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People and pets in the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis: Identifying trends in the intake, adoption and return of companion animals during times of uncertainty

Murray, Lindsay
; 
Carroll, Janine
; 
Tyson, Jane
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Other Contributors
Affiliation
University of Chester; Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
EPub Date
Publication Date
2025-05-29
Submitted Date
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Psychology
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Abstract
Pet ownership is the most common form of human–animal interaction (HAI), is prevalent worldwide and confers benefits for the health and wellbeing of humans. Here, we examined a large set of anonymised data from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) to identify trends in the intake, adoption and relinquishment of companion animals in England and Wales before and during times of uncertainty, namely, the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis (COLC). We employed an interrupted time series (ITS) design which controls for pre-existing trends by comparing observed outcomes post-intervention with those expected if the intervention had not occurred. Nearly 200,000 animals were taken in by the RSPCA and over 140,000 animals were adopted or released over the four-year period from 2018 to 2022. When controlling for the brief closure of RSPCA sites, fewer dogs and cats were taken in and adopted during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic, and the intake and adoption of animals were lower during the COLC than before. A downward trend in the return of animals was observed, and the principal reasons for return were problem behaviours, owner unpreparedness and a change in circumstances. Our ITS analysis also permitted forecast predictions to be made which could prove helpful to the RSPCA.
Citation
Murray, L., Carroll, J., & Tyson, J. (2025). People and pets in the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis: Identifying trends in the intake, adoption and return of companion animals during times of uncertainty. Animals, 15(11), article-number 1584. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15111584
Publisher
MDPI
Journal
Animals
Research Unit
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10034/629438
DOI
10.3390/ani15111584
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PubMed Central ID
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Article
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© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
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ISSN
EISSN
2076-2615
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Sponsors
University of Chester Research and Innovation Office’s Policy Support Fund, grant number PSY08015
Additional Links
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/11/1584