despite increased capacity, montreal animal shelters struggling with surge of abandoned pets

even after a new shelter opened this year in montreal, local animal rescues say they are still struggling to keep up with the influx of abandoned pets arriving at their doors.montreal spca director sylvie bourbonnière says thousands of animals continue to flow into shelters, suggesting that economic pressures and housing challenges are pushing more owners to give up their pets.although the new proanima shelter opened on pie-ix blvd., the spca has barely seen a drop in its intake.from jan. 1 to july 15, 2025, the spca took in 7,900 animals. over the same period this year, there were 6,740. "we imagined that we would see a major difference, because now we have two service providers. it should be at least 40 or 50 per cent less, but it's not. that slight difference, 1,000 animals less, it's not enough," bourbonnière said in an interview, noting that it signals there has been an increase in pet abandonment. 

the weeks surrounding the traditional july 1 moving day in montreal is a busy time for shelters, bourbonnière said, since many landlords don't permit pets. the spca helped fight a case in front of the quebec housing tribunal, which ruled in march that prohibiting animals on a lease is contrary to quebec’s charter of human rights and freedoms."we’ve seen a significant increase around july 1, a little before and a little after," bourbonnière said.   "the difficulty of finding housing means that people are unfortunately forced to choose between finding an apartment or continuing to live with their pet. in about 85 per cent of apartments, landlords impose significant restrictions or outright prohibit living with a pet. we know that in quebec, many people live with pets. it remains difficult, mathematically speaking, for someone with a pet to find housing when availability is so limited," she added. 

another main contributor to pet abandonment is the difficult economy, according to proanima executive director anny kirouac. "people have to surrender (pets) or have to find solutions because they're going through difficult personal times themselves," kirouac said in an interview. bourbonnière added that people sometimes underestimate the costs associated with caring for a pet. since summer began, proanima has seen its intake jump from an average of 25 animals per day up to 50, kirouac said. cats are the no. 1 species that shelters receive across the province. "it's around 75 to 80 per cent at any time of the year," kirouac said. 

for pet owners who can no longer take care of their animals, kirouac and bourbonnière urge them to bring the pets to a shelter directly, rather than abandoning them in an apartment or tying them to a street pole. "we took in two beautiful little dogs, two little labradors that were found alone in an abandoned apartment. it’s hot out, and they don’t always have water. in any case, it’s a responsibility," bourbonnière said. "when someone abandons an animal like that, we don’t know anything. we don’t know its health status, we don’t know its history. we don’t know if it’s an animal that enjoys living with a family or with children — we don’t know anything." kirouac explained that there is also a thrift store and a food bank at proanima, for those who need pet food and supplies at a lower price. "if they don't call us, they don't contact us, they don't reach out, then we can't help them," kirouac added. "people are ashamed of coming into a shelter and saying, 'i couldn't do it. it's too much for me. i don't think i have a solution.' but sometimes there is a solution."