ADVICE FORSHELTERS

Shelter intake practicesThe major impacts on animal shelters fromthe COVID-19 outbreak are highernumbers of animals being taken in andfewer adoptions and rescue options. Staffshortages are also likely because of illnessor self-isolation. Shelters must balance thepublic health of their community and oftheir staff with their goal of saving animals’lives. To help achieve this balance,shelters are advised to suspend non-essential functions, including the pick-up,transport and sheltering of dogs or cats thatare not in imminent danger.

FosteringGiven the immense strain on sheltersduring the current COVID-19 outbreak,fostering has proven to be a mechanismto enable sheltering organizations toprotect the most vulnerable communitypopulations and their pets. Fosteringhelps reduce the burden on shelters,particularly in light of a potential increase inthe intake of pets from those who are sickor hospitalized. In mostinstances, shelters already maintain anetwork of active, trained foster careproviders. During the months ahead, manypeople may face financial challenges,which may limit their ability to care for theirpets and this could place an additionalstrain on shelters. Keeping pets out ofshelters through fostering and other life-saving mechanisms, will enable them touse their kennels for other animals in needand to operate with fewer staff. Mostimportantly, it will enable them to continuesaving lives.

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WSAVA Advice for Animal WelfareOrganisations during the COVID-19Pandemic

Foster care providers should follow theguidelines and protocols set by theorganization they foster for. In general,these include at a minimum, providing petswith proper food, access to water at alltimes, daylight, appropriate socialization,activity and health care. Foster pets mustbe kept in climate-controlled homes wherethe temperature is kept between 15 and27°C (60 - 80°F).

ADVICE FORFOSTER HOMES

A potential way to minimize the risk ofshelters being overburdened withreturned foster dogs and cats oncequarantine has ended is a ‘foster-to-adopt’ model. In this model, foster careproviders are trained to market for adoptionthe pets they are fostering so that theanimals are adopted directly from the fosterhome and never return to the shelter.Another option is to stagger the return ofanimals in foster homes to the shelters.This will allow the shelter more time to planand structure the return of fostered pets.While there is still a risk of shelters facing alarge number of animals returning fromfoster homes following the end ofquarantine, the benefit to the shelters,animals and communities far outweighs therisk.

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Animal Sheltering Magazinerecently published an articleto help shelters expandtheir foster networks:

Foster and volunteertraining opportunitiesduring the COVID-19outbreak are online here viathe Association of AnimalWelfare Advancement.

Foster care providers should only treatfoster pets with medications andsupplements with the agreement of theshelter organization and veterinary staff.

If you are fostering a dog:Make sure that you have the appropriatesupplies at home before bringing the doghome. These include poop bags, foodbowl, water bowl, appropriate diet, acomfortable and safe place to rest, a leashand harness. Make sure that the dog isproperly fitted with a collar, or preferably aharness. If necessary, ask the shelter staffto check the fit. The dog should have aleash properly attached to its collar orharness. Check to be sure that allequipment is fastened and that noequipment is frayed or worn. Flexi /retractable should not be used. Puppies and dogs should never be leftunsupervised outdoors and should always

be kept on a leash or in a securely fencedyard. It is recommended that foster pets donot interact with people or pets outside ofthe foster household during the ‘lockdown’period. If you are fostering a cat:Kittens and cats in foster care should bekept indoors. Guidance on providing for thewelfare needs of indoor cats can be foundhere:

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When being transported, cats and kittensmust be kept in secure carriers. Fosterkittens/cats should only be introduced to,and allowed to socialize with other pets, ifthis has been approved by the shelterorganization.

AAFP and ISFM FelineEnvironmental NeedsGuidelines

INTAKE ANDHANDLING OFANIMALS EXPOSEDTO COVID-19

Please refer to the AVMA advice onhandling exposed animals:

Interim recommendations for intakeof companion animals fromhouseholds where humans withCOVID-19 are present

ADOPTIONPROGRAMS

Animal shelters and animal welfareorganisations should keep their activities toa minimum during this period but adoptionprograms do not have to be suspendedduring the pandemic and can still becarried out in a safe manner if precautionsare taken. Remember to stay at a safe social distanceof more than two meters (six feet) fromother people, wash hands with soap andwater before and after handling animalsand minimise the number of visitors to theshelter. Some adoption program optionsthat have already been implementedinclude:

Some shelters are offering virtual tours oftheir shelters to showcase the animalsavailable for adoption and carrying outadoption interviews by phone or videoconference. Adopting animals that have not beenspayed or neutered: Shelters, veterinary clinics and spay-neuterclinics should prioritize procedures,including spay-neuter surgeries anddiscontinue those that can be deferredto reduce resource-use, workload, and thepotential for human exposure. Most spaysand neuters, even pre-adoption, are non-emergency procedures.

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appointment-only / call-aheadadoptions

curb-side adoptions

foster-to-adopt

In the US, the National Animal Care andControl Association (NACA) and theASPCA have emphasized that sheltersshould continue to provide ‘live outcomes’(any good outcome that does not result indeath) for sheltered cats and dogs even ifpre-adoption spays and neuters are notavailable. Euthanasia should not be utilizedas an alternative to releasing animals toadopters/foster unsterilized. Possiblealternative solutions will vary, but caninclude:

Removing other obstacles to adoptionsshould also be considered such as:

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ADVICE FOR CATAND DOGPOPULATIONMANAGEMENT ANDOTHER OUTREACHPROGRAMS

adopting with vouchers toreturn for surgery when thepandemic has resolved

utilizing foster-to-adoptprograms where laws requiresterilisation prior to adoption

manually checking up withadopters as soon thepandemic is over to ensure theanimals will be neutered.

reducing adoption fees

providing adoption interviewsby phone

encouraging foster-to-adoptwhen possible

During the critical periodDuring critical periods of the COVID-19pandemic, medical services in manycountries may be overwhelmed by thenumber of patients at medical treatmentfacilities. Medical equipment and supplies,including personal protective equipment(PPE), may be in short supply. Somemedical services are requesting medicalequipment from veterinary practitioners (egventilators). In countries where private veterinarypractices and other veterinary outreachservices are allowed to continue,veterinary teams should prioritize theirservices to essential services only. Thislimits the use of equipment and PPE,allowing the bulk of these essential items tobe diverted to medical services to controlthe pandemic. Limiting veterinary servicesalso allows for appropriate social distancingwithout overcrowding practices and limitsthe risk of exposure to veterinary teamsand their clients.

Essential veterinary services areprocedures that are immediately lifesavingfor the patient. Elective surgeries and non-emergency procedures should bepostponed. Vaccinations and neuteringsurgeries are considered as non-essential.However, in some shelters andcommunities, timely vaccinations arenecessary for disease prevention in highlyendemic places or to reduce the risks ofzoonotic disease in the human population. There are many organisations or groupsconducting neutering programs such as‘trap-neuter-release’ (TNR) or ‘catch-neuter-release’ (CNR) or ‘animal birthcontrol’ (ABC) as part of overall dog or catpopulation management. These neuteringprograms should ideally stop during thelockdown period and adhere to the adviceof the country/region they are in. Instead, groups can work with thecommunity or animal caretakers to identifypregnant animals or new-borns so that theycan prioritise them when neuteringprograms resume. Ideas for other work thatcan be carried out during lockdown arelisted here:

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Towards the end of the critical periodAs lockdown rules start to relax, animalwelfare programs may begin to resumeoperations. However, considerations andrisks should be assessed before resumingoperations, as priorities for animalwelfare programs may shift. In disasters and crises, there may beincreased disease transmission caused byfree-roaming animals. Some of theseanimals may travel further outside theirterritories to seek food when their usualsources of food are disrupted, causingsecondary disease outbreaks to spread toother animals or humans (eg rabies). Insome cases, animals have been blamed forthe crisis and viewed negatively. Thisresults in a breakdown of the human-animal bond and can lead to retaliatorymass culling of animals and theunnecessary suffering this causes. The WSAVA calls on animal welfareorganisations to prioritize preventivemeasures to prevent wide scale suffering.These could include starting a treatment orvaccination program, or awarenessprograms before resuming neuteringprograms. In some places, animal welfare concernsmay become more apparent after thispandemic. Where no animal welfareprograms are place, we encourage thepublic, the authorities, and the veterinarycommunity to establish them.

ICAM answers FAQs onCOVID-19 and companionanimal populationmanagement