Economic Crisis, Migration and Pet Abandonment

Keeping a domestic animal in an environment of economic instability poses a daily ethical and financial dilemma for thousands of households. Access to quality processed food, preventive veterinary treatments, vaccines, or basic medical supplies has progressively become unaffordable for families whose income is primarily allocated to human survival.

When essential resources become scarce, animal care enters a zone of extreme fragility:

• Cross-Food Insecurity: Families facing nutritional constraints end up sharing inadequate diets with their pets or finding themselves forced to make the decision of leaving them on the street as a last resort due to the inability to feed them.

• Lack of Preventive Medical Care: The rise in the costs of veterinary consultations and medications causes treatable or preventable conditions to become chronic illnesses, accelerating the decline of animal health.

• The Dilemma of Migration: The massive exodus has fragmented family units. For many migrants, the financial demands of travel tickets, international health permits, and pet-friendly rentals in destination countries make relocating their animals unsustainable, leading to rushed rehoming or abandonment.