Online Relinquishments of Dogs and Cats in Australia

Abstract

While traditionally people relinquish their pets to an animal shelter or pound, the internet provides a newer method to re-home. We analyzed advertisements (ads) on the largest website in Australia for trading dogs and cats: Gumtree. Data was collected in 2016. Dogs were sampled on 7, 16 and 24 February 2016 and cats on 9, 19 and 26 February 2016, with 2640 ads for relinquished dogs, and 2093 ads for relinquished cats. It was estimated >31,000 puppies/dogs and >24,000 kittens/cats are relinquished on Gumtree per year. The median age of dogs was 1.42 and cats 0.9 years of age. There were 23% of dog ads and 62% of cat ads for free animals. Compared to the human population, there were proportionately more ads in Queensland and fewer ads in Victoria. A total of 15 people were surveyed who had relinquished a dog or cat using Gumtree. The dog owners used Gumtree for two reasons: because they believed the shelters were full (n = 4); and they wanted to see/interview the new owner (n = 2). For cat owners: they had originally got the cat on Gumtree (n = 2); they use Gumtree for other things, and it works (n = 2), and; they wanted to see/interview the new owner (n = 2). The data collected will be valuable for implementation of policy and interventions to protect the welfare of unwanted dogs and cats.

Keywords: Australia; cat; dog; online; relinquishment.

Figure 1

Proportions of total ads for relinquished dogs on Gumtree and PetRescue from 8 to 24 February 2016 and total dog shelter admissions from Chua, Rand and Morton [2] for each Australian State/Territory. States/Territories are ordered in increasing proportion of total population. The square symbol is the proportion of the Australian population for each State/Territory. (Note: The proportion of the Australian population in each State/Territory is: New South Wales (NSW) 31.7%, Victoria (Vic) 24.9%, Queensland (Qld) 19.9%, Western Australia (WA) 10.8%, South Australia (SA) 7%, Tasmania (Tas) 2.1%, Australian Capital Territory (ACT) 1.6% and Northern Territory (NT) 1%).

Figure 2

Numbers per capita (1000) of relinquished dogs on Gumtree (A) and PetRescue (B) from 8 to 24 February 2016, and total dog surrenders from Chua, Rand and Morton 2017 [2] (C) for each Australian State/Territory. Abbreviations used are: New South Wales (NSW), Victoria (Vic), Queensland (Qld), Western Australia (WA), South Australia (SA), Tasmania (Tas), Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Northern Territory (NT)

Figure 3

Proportions of total ads for relinquished cats on Gumtree and PetRescue from 9 to 26 February 2016, and Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) shelter admissions for each Australian State/Territory. States/Territories are ordered in increasing proportion of total population. The square symbol is the proportion of the Australian population for each State/Territory (Note: The proportion of the Australian population in each State/Territory is: NSW 31.7%, Vic 24.9%, Qld 19.9%, WA 10.8%, SA 7%, Tas 2.1%, ACT 1.6% and NT 1%).

Figure 4

Numbers per capita (1000) of total ads for relinquished cats on Gumtree (A) and PetRescue (B) from 9 to 26 February 2016, and RSPCA shelter admissions (C) for each Australian State/Territory.

Figure 4

Numbers per capita (1000) of total ads for relinquished cats on Gumtree (A) and PetRescue (B) from 9 to 26 February 2016, and RSPCA shelter admissions (C) for each Australian State/Territory.