The organisation said it was treating a record number animals such as hamsters, rats and rabbits with broken and fractured limbs.
Cape Town - The Animal Welfare Society of South Africa is concerned at the sudden increase in small animals being admitted with broken limbs.
The organisation said it was seeing and treating a record number of small pets such as hamsters, rats and rabbits with broken and fractured limbs and have established that almost all of these injuries were caused by robust play and improper handling by over-zealous children left to their own devices.
Animal Welfare Society of South Africa spokesperson Alan Perrins said many of these pets were acquired as companions to keep young children “entertained” during the hard lockdown with little to no thought as to the pets’ needs and suitability.
He said some of these animals had lost eyes while others have lost limbs which impact negatively on their quality of life.
“This is totally unacceptable. It is patently unfair that these pets should be paying the price for parental indifference and selfish human gratification. In our opinion the injured patients we are seeing represents the tip of the iceberg with, we suspect, many animals being left to suffer and die only to be replaced – as the cost of treatment can sometimes out-weigh the cost of replacement,” he said.
Cape of Good Hope SPCA spokesperson Belinda Abrahams said child interaction with any pet should always be supervised by a parent or an adult as children may act inappropriately towards an animal out of curiosity.
She said parents needed to use these interactions as teachable moments to help children understand the right way to interact with animals and to teach them compassion.
“We do not encourage the keeping of hamsters or any other exotic species as pets. Hamsters do not make ideal pets for children, they are primarily nocturnal and as a prey species scare easily.
“Hamsters are fragile and most fractures occur as a result of them squirming, biting their handler and being dropped from a height; an inadequate diet may also contribute to the fragility of their skeletal system. Unwanted exotic and domestic pets are welcome at the SPCA. We never turn any animal away,” she said.
Allan said if the novelty of owning a high-maintenance pet like a rabbit or hamster wears off as was often the case, or if parents notice untoward interactions, they should rather surrender the pets instead of allowing them to suffer and be abused.