The DOI matches its Crossref record.
Relationship between sources of pet acquisition and euthanasia of cats and dogs in an animal shelter: a pilot study
Abstract
Objective: Approximately 140,000 unwanted dogs and cats are culled in Australia annually. There is a paucity of information linking sources of pet acquisition with subsequent euthanasia, which may inform evidence‐based strategies to reduce euthanasia rates. This pilot study aimed to determine whether there is a higher risk of euthanasia related to the source of acquisition for pets surrendered to an animal shelter. Methods: Data for 5391 dogs and 5581 cats surrendered to one Queensland shelter between January 2006 and December 2009 were analysed. Results: The main sources of acquisition for owner‐surrendered dogs were ‘shelter’ and ‘pet shop’ and for owner‐surrendered cats were ‘own litter’ and ‘shelter’. Euthanasia rates for different sources varied. For adult dogs, acquisition through newspaper advertisements was associated with the highest euthanasia rate. Adult cats obtained as gifts (from friend or family member) had the highest euthanasia rate. For junior cats, the overwhelming source was the owner's own litter (68% of intake) and only kittens acquired as strays were at significantly higher risk of euthanasia. For both dogs and cats, animals acquired from shelters had lower rates of euthanasia than most other sources, which suggests that shelter‐sourced animals may be considered a preferred source for pet acquisition to assist in reducing the number of adoptable pets euthanased. Conclusion: There was evidence from the study animal shelter that the risk of euthanasia was related to acquisition source. These findings should be confirmed by prospective studies, which should also investigate the interaction between acquisition source and other factors, using larger data sets from a variety of shelters.
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In the citing paper
“Currently there is a lack of research into the association between the source of pet acquisition and the ultimate outcome for these animals (17).”
From Companion animal adoption and relinquishment during the COVID-19 pandemic: Peri-pandemic pets at greatest risk of relinquishment (2022) · cites this paper as [17]
In the citing paper
“However, a “gift” included any animal acquired at no cost from family and friends. Therefore, it is impossible to determine how many of these animals were truly given as gifts and how many were actively sought out by the pet owner.”
From Companion animal adoption and relinquishment during the COVID-19 pandemic: Peri-pandemic pets at greatest risk of relinquishment (2022) · cites this paper as Montoya et al. (17)
In the citing paper
“Montoya et al. (17) assessed the effect of the source of pet acquisition on later euthanasia risk in one Australian animal shelter and found that both adult cats and dogs were at increased risk of euthanasia if they were originally acquired as gifts.”
From Companion animal adoption and relinquishment during the COVID-19 pandemic: Peri-pandemic pets at greatest risk of relinquishment (2022) · cites this paper as Montoya et al. (17)
Citations
Cites
No references could be resolved yet.
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Carroll, G. A., Torjussen, A., & Reeve, C. (2022) · Frontiers in Veterinary Science · doi:10.3389/fvets.2022.1017954 · Cited by 40
Metadata
- Authors
- Arbe Montoya, A., Rand, J., Greer, R., Alberthsen, C., & Vankan, D.
- Affiliations
- School of Veterinary Science The University of Queensland Gatton 4343 Queensland Australia
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- Venue
- Australian Veterinary Journal
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2017-05-28
- Volume
- 95
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 194-200
- ISSN
- 0005-0423 (ISSN-L)
- 1751-0813
- OpenAlex
- W2620249047
- Cited by
- 16
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 22.57
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Australian Veterinary Journal (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Adelaide Research & Scholarship (AR&S) (University of Adelaide) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Law › Animal Law and Welfare
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Human-Animal Interaction Studies
- Keywords
- pet euthanasia, animal shelters, dogs, cats, stray animals, newspaper advertising, pet shop
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Animal Welfare, Breeding, Cats, Commerce, Dogs, Housing, Animal, Newspapers as Topic, Ownership, Pilot Projects, Queensland, Databases, Factual, Euthanasia, Animal, Gift Giving
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- CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Relationship between sources of pet acquisition and euthanasia of cats and dogs in an animal shelter: a pilot study. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1111/avj.12582
- The paper
- Arbe Montoya, A., Rand, J., Greer, R., Alberthsen, C., & Vankan, D. (2017). Relationship between sources of pet acquisition and euthanasia of cats and dogs in an animal shelter: a pilot study. Australian Veterinary Journal. https://doi.org/10.1111/avj.12582
