CORONAVIRUS: PETS STUCK IN LOCKDOWN CAN’T GO HOME TO OWNERS

Puppies, kittens and other pets waiting to go home are stuck in limbo as pet travel remains banned under level 4 coronavirus restrictions. 

The worst is feared for the welfare of some pets which are stuck in situations where they can’t be looked after properly. 

International and domestic pet travel remains banned under the alert level 4 restrictions. 

Betty Hansen, owner of Star Pet Travel, a registered pet shipping company based in Kaiapoi, North Canterbury, has two puppies and three adult dogs stuck in her kennels while the country remains in lockdown.

One of those dogs belongs to a Greymouth family on the West Coast and was transported to Christchurch for surgery.

The dog can’t be returned home as pet travel is not considered an essential service. 

Hansen’s situation was a small snapshot of a much larger issue surrounding animal welfare in New Zealand as pet travel remains banned, she said. 

While she had space for the few pets she was looking after, many companies did not, and pets were suffering as a result, she said. 

“Young puppies and kittens unable to be homed is an animal welfare issue. There is not enough space for these pets to live well,” Hansen said. 

“We have a lot of breeder clients who have lots of puppies and kittens on their hands and simply can’t look after them. 

“It’s not good for these young pets to remain with their litter for so long and in a lot of cases the breeders weren’t prepared to cope with looking after so many animals.” 

Buyers also weren’t getting their new puppy or kitten during an important acclimatisation stage for the pet, Hansen said. 

Many of Hansen’s clients with plans to move overseas had opted to stay in New Zealand as they could not get clearance to move their pets with them, she said. 

Scammers were also taking advantage of people who were unaware pet travel was not operating, she said.

SAFE chief executive Debra Ashton said animals not able to be transported was an animal welfare issue. 

“Travel should be considered an essential service to transport animals to loving homes,” Ashton said. 

Animals brought so much joy to people and this was more important now than ever, she said.

“There are already concerns about animals being euthanised because of the pandemic.

“We’re fearing the worst for animals as lockdown continues. Let’s make every effort to save lives.”

Air New Zealand is the only commercial airline in the country able to transport pets.

A spokeswoman for the airline said they were operating a limited domestic schedule due to alert level 4.

“As a result, we made the decision to cease live animal shipments including pets during this period as our limited cargo capacity needs to be available for essential cargo at this time,” the spokeswoman said. 

Exceptions would be made for police dogs or animals required to help essential services personnel on a case-by-case basis, she said. 

“Once the restrictions come off we will of course be reviewing this position.”