This week, Palma City Council in association with the animal welfare group Baldea launched its annual awareness campaign to remind people that pets are for life, not just for Christmas.
Palma.—And, yesterday, a report was published which provides further evidence as to why people need to be more sensitive to the realities of giving a pet away as a present.
Spain has the worst record for pet abandonment in Europe, with a domestic animal thrown out on the streets every three minutes, on average.
In total 150,000 pets are abandoned each year in Spain, according to animal rights group Observatorio de la Fundacion Affinity.
Unexpected litters account for a massive 19% of the country’s abandoned pets, while 15% of cases relate to families struggling with money.
Things get worse in the summer as families struggle to plan a trip away with their animal, and so leave them behind.