The President of HESY reminds us that abandoning a pet is an animal welfare offence, just like abusing a pet.
The Helsinki Animal Welfare Society (HESY) took in 520 pets in need of help last year.
Cats were by far the most numerous, with over 250, but there were also dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs and no fewer than 59 birds.
Currently, there are around 140 animals in HESY’s care.
Of the animals, 172 were found animals, 24 were returned animals and the majority, 283 animals, were taken into care for animal protection reasons or taken into care due to changes in the owner’s life situation. The number of birds in particular increased considerably compared to previous years.
HESY has been responsible for the discovery animal activities in the capital region at the discovery zoo in Viikki since the end of 2020.
The Viikki Foundling Zoo is the official recovery site for foundling animals in the capital region and Kirkkonummi, where companion animals found on the loose are cared for for 15 days.
During this time, the owner has the opportunity to redeem his pet against the treatment costs.
If the found animals are not picked up from the found animal house within the deadline, they will become the property of HESY and new homes will be started for them.
Although the relative number of cats among the animals in HESY’s care has decreased, they are still the most. The drop from 85 percent to 49 percent is not explained by the fact that there are fewer cats, but by the fact that the number of other animal species has increased.
In 2022, the number of dogs that came into HESY’s care remained at the previous year’s level. Most of the dogs are taken into care by the authorities for animal protection reasons.
The number of rabbits decreased slightly from the previous year. The number of birds at HESY has increased more than any other group of animals due to the discovery zoo in Viikki.
In 2021, the number of birds that arrived at HESY was eight times compared to the previous year. Last year, the number doubled.
The large proportion of small pets that end up at HESY is due to the fact that they are rarely taken home from Viikki’s discovery zoo.
Last year, 93 percent of stray dogs and 67 percent of stray cats were taken home. Only about 17 percent of the small pets ended up back home.