Danish Animal Shelters Swamped as June Intake Reaches 38 Animals Daily

Danish animal shelters are facing a significant influx of surrendered pets, with June alone seeing 1,144 animals taken in across seven locations. This averages to 38 animals per day, a number that has shelters bracing for a busy late summer and fall.

The majority of these animals are cats, often found abandoned in boxes or surrendered by owners who can no longer care for them. Karina Fisker, shelter manager for Dyrenes Beskyttelse (The Animal Protection Agency), attributes the high number of cats to a lack of sterilization and castration among pet owners, leading to many unwanted kittens ending up in shelters.

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It results every year in a lot of unwanted kittens that end up in the shelters.

Last year, Dyrenes Beskyttelse's shelters received a total of 10,597 animals, with more than half arriving between July and October. Fisker noted that the peak season for animal intake typically lasts until October, making it a constant struggle for space and resources. The agency expects a similar or even greater pressure this year, highlighting the ongoing challenge of managing the animal population.

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Every year it is a fight against time and space at the shelters. We first expect the pressure to start easing towards October.