Sydney: With COVID-19 restrictions increasingly keeping people at home, many Australians are seeing this as a good time to adopt pets.
Animal shelters in the state of New South Wales have recorded a significant increase in animal adoptions and pet-owners say their furry friends are keeping them company in isolation.
In New South Wales (NSW), Australia's most populated state, COVID-19 rules allow residents to leave their homes for exercise.
According to the NSW Health Department, as of 20 April 2020, there are 2,963 confirmed cases of the virus in the state and there have been 30 deaths.
During the partial lockdown period, many people are using this as an opportunity to walk the dog.
Australia's Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity that rescues, cares for and adopts out abandoned pets.
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Since the coronavirus restrictions came into place in NSW, its animal shelters in the state have seen a 30% rise in adoptions compared to the same time a year ago.
Non-essential travel rules are in place in New South Wales, restricting people from leaving their homes unless they are going to work, to school or an educational institution, to shop for food or essentials, to get medical care and supplies or to exercise.
Due to these restrictions, the RSPCA has closed public access to its New South Wales animal shelters.
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Before the coronavirus pandemic, people interested in adopting a pet from an animal shelter would visit in person, meet and interact with the available animals and have the option of adopting on the same day.
Now that the RSPCA has closed its shelters to the public, it has had to restructure how animals are adopted.
"We've had to change our process so that we have all our animals' profiles online," says Renae Charalambous, a Customer Care Consultant at the RSPCA's main office in Yagoona, a suburban area west of Sydney.
The RSPCA says that while having extra time at home with your pets can help ease the hardship of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, it also advises pet owners to try to establish normal routines and to give pets some time to themselves.
(AP)
