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West Kootenay animal centre sees spike in adoptions during pandemic

There have also been more pets coming into the centre
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The centre has received more kittens recently. Photo: BC SPCA

Pet adoptions have spiked at the West Kootenay Community Animal Centre (WKCAC) during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to branch manager Danielle Jackman.

When comparing the first 10 months of 2019 and 2020, the number of animals that have been adopted at the centre has increased by 33 per cent from 320 to 426.

There have been between 60 and 80 animals adopted at the centre in each of the last three months alone.

Jackman believes there’s one big reason for why more pets are being adopted.

“With so many people working and staying at home right now, a lot of them have had more opportunities to own a pet,” said Jackman.

“As a result, they’ve being reaching out to us more about adopting one.”

Despite the increase in adoptions, there have been enough animals coming into the centre to satisfy the demand.

“We saw a big increase in incoming animals because many veterinarian offices across B.C. had to close for a brief period during the crisis,” said Jackman.

“That also meant a lot of our animals coming into our centre couldn’t be spayed or neutered. We ended up with a lot more kittens than we had in previous years.”

The BCSPCA states that feral and stray cats often interact and mate with each other in the spring, resulting in more unplanned litters and homeless kittens in the fall.

Dogs, rabbits and ferrets are some of the other animals that have been adopted at the centre recently.

With health restrictions around COVID-19 in place, people are asked to look at pets available for adoption on the WKCAC’s website rather than in person.

The WKCAC is operated by the BC SPCA. You can make a donation to the BC SPCA on its website.

READ MORE: BCSPCA seizes 46 dogs from B.C. Interior property


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