The number of animals admitted to the Son Reus centre for animal protection has, in recent years, been in decline, but in 2015 the number of dogs which were abandoned or given up by owners rose in comparison with 2014.
The 2015 report establishes that 6,266 animals were admitted. This compared with 6,326 in 2014 and 6,833 in 2013. The vast majority are dogs and cats but can also include exotic birds and animals.
Of this total, 2,336 were dead animals, found in the street, identified by chip and taken to the centre to be incinerated. The reasons for other animals entering the centre were diverse, with 1,607 of them having been strays and with no form of identification. A further 603 were handed over by owners who could no longer take care of them and which were offered for adoption. Then there were 522 which had been abandoned, 428 that were sick and 167 which had been stolen. This latter category cannot be put out for adoption if there is some form of legal process concerning them which has to be completed before adoption can be considered. There were also 33 dogs admitted which had bitten someone and were under health observation.
While the number of living dogs going into Son Reus has fallen - from 2,112 in 2012 to 1,858 last year - the situation with cats is the opposite: their number rose from 927 in 2012 to 1,739 in 2015.
One of the more negative aspects as noted in the report for 2015 concerned the increased number of abandoned and stray dogs as well as those given up by their owners. The number of strays increased from 730 to 792, the number given up from 512 to 535 and those abandoned from 453 to 519.
More positively, a total of 1,595 animals were adopted in 2015, of which 1,134 were dogs and 449 were cats.
The number of dogs which were put down was 52, a significant reduction over previous years.