U.S. animal shelters are expected to be the most overcrowded in years, according to a survey conducted by animal rescue facilities.
Shelter Animals Count, a nonprofit organization, reported that during the holiday season, there are around 250,000 more pets in animal shelters than the same period in 2022, The Washington Post reports.
Stephanie Filer, the executive director of Shelter Animals Count, stated that overcrowding could be even more extreme if shelters had more space to accommodate animals.
Pet adoptions skyrocketed during the pandemic, with almost 1 in 5 households adopting a pet, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
At the peak of the pandemic, 70 percent of U.S. households owned a pet, and 54 percent owned dogs, as revealed by the American Pet Products Association trade group, the newspaper also reports.