They’re no longer cute and small. The impulse has passed and the pet gets abandoned. The summer months see a marked rise of these cases in the UAE, despite stringent laws in place.
The problem is primarily within the expatrite community.
Montserrat Martin, an animal welfare advocate and founder of Friends of Animals Dubai, said: “The people who abandon their pets will most likely never give you a sincere reason for their actions. They get the pet as an impulsive decision and then can’t cope with the responsibility. The main excuse is, ‘I have been relocated and I cannot take the pet with me’.”
Martin claims that the number of stray animals in the UAE has tripled over the past few years. There are no official statistics to verify this data.
She gave Gulf News an example of a case she is dealing with currently.
She said: “A 10-year-old cat is being abandoned. The family is moving back to Mexico because the father has gotten a better job back home. Who will want to adopt a 10-year-old cat?
“When it comes to the expatriate community, we come to this country to work and earn money. This will not be our place of retirement. But, they will still get dogs like a fashion statement and when it comes to leaving the country, the first thing they dispose is the pet. They will keep things that are replaceable, like their furniture, but leave the animal behind.”
She says that she receives a lot of calls from people who want to abandon their pet and they all come up with the “perfect excuse”.
Another issue that bothers her is that some people are completely ignorant.
She said: “Some families get a male and female dog in the same house and are clueless that they could breed. This is our worst nightmare. After the female dog has given birth to over 15 pups, the owners call the municipality who will collect the animals and put them down.
“There are also those who do this as a business. They’ll breed the dogs, till they’re so tired that they are close to dying. The pups are then sold. However, what they don’t understand is that the puppies could carry diseases due to over breeding. They are given off to families, which can cause further harm.”
She is working very hard to raise awareness on the subject and hopes that the authorities can help.
She said: “The animal shelters are always taken for granted. All our time and efforts are going to waste. I request the authorities to do something. It is illegal to breed and sell animals from your home. There is a law in the UAE, follow it!”
