Ga. animal shelters brace for increase of surrenders due to tariffs
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Some Georgia animal shelters say they are expecting to see an increased number of animal surrenders because of tariffs.
It is the trickle-down impact the tariffs could have — from people not being able to afford vet care and medication, to people having to surrender due to housing issues — shelters aren’t sure how they will meet the need.
Some animal shelters in Georgia are already dealing with packed facilities. Some are forced to euthanize, others turn away dogs when there isn’t space.
“There is no animal welfare without human welfare,” said Audrey Shoemaker, executive shelter director at LifeLine Animal Project at Fulton County Animal Services.
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Employees said adopting from the shelter is one of the best things people can do since the dogs are already vaccinated, microchipped, spayed and neutered, but those needs are regularly unmet. The expectation among employees at LifeLine Animal Project at Fulton County Animal Services is that existing problems that make it hard to get animals out of the shelter in the first place will be made worse due to tariffs.
“We are already seeing a decrease in our adoptions and an increase in owner surrender requests,” said Shoemaker.
The shelters at Lifeline are packed. In some cases, two to a kennel.
“Right now, we don’t know where the next pet is going to go. We are actually going into a week right now where the way all the numbers are playing out. We have a space list euthanasia list of 30 dogs this week,” said Shoemaker.
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“The days when it feels the most hopeless really are days when you walk into the intake room and it is completely full,” said Olive Alverson at Fulton County Animal Services.
The idea is that as tariffs set in, there will be even more people who choose to surrender their animals because of evictions, rental fees from landlords or being homeless because they wouldn’t be able to afford their lives, let alone pet care.
“Animal shelters are just a reflection of what is going on in the community,” said Shoemaker.
There are local food banks for pet food, like at Paws Atlanta, where people can drop by, show an ID and pick up food once a month, but it is already hard to keep the pantry stocked because the demand is so high.
“It seems like we might be heading for some more challenging times,” said Shoemaker.
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