Animal protection took care of 8,048 pets people dumped last year. It is a new record, up from 7,415 in 2017, and more than twice as many as ten years ago.
The animal protection figures show that there are more and more homeless pets every year. Cats are most prone to being dropped by owners who cannot, or will not be bothered to have them anymore.
“What we see is just the tip of the iceberg” said Åshild Roaldset, who told NRK news that the Animal Protection Agency’s 27 local departments in the country, with hundreds of volunteers, are not able to help all the animals.
‘’So far this year, all our local departments report that they are drowning in animals.
They struggle to keep their heads above water and have no capacity to help everyone who needs it’’ she said.
Animal protection Norway wants to require mandatory identification of animals, so that the owner can be tracked and so that the animals’ legal security can be safeguarded.
Dumping of animals increases in connection with the holidays. They are often found in garbage cisterns, along roads, and in woodland.
Putting an animal into a helpless state is a violation of animal welfare law, but only a few are prosecuted who do so.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
