The pandemic has caused the number of dog and cat adoptions to skyrocket in Italy, according to a study by Enpa, the National Agency for Animal Protection.
In 2020, the agency recorded a growth of more than 15% in adoptions, reaching up to 40% in some Italian cities.
The feeling for dogs is the same as we have for children”, said Sigmund Freud. Now, the numbers confirm this.
The Assalco Zoomark 2020 Report, from the National Association of Pet Feeding and Care Companies, estimates that the number of animals in Italian homes is 60,2 million – the Italy has 60,5 million inhabitants.
The proportion is practically a pet for every human.
In 2019, the Italian research institute Eurispes highlighted that for 76,8% of Italians, animals are members of the family in all aspects. The survey also revealed that animals are the best friends for six out of ten compatriots.
Fewer children, more pets
If it is true that the family “expands”, giving more and more space to new affections for pets, it is also true that, on the contrary, the birth rate continues to decline.
Just look at data from Istat, Italy's official research institute. In 2019, 420.084 children were born across the country – a 4,5% reduction compared to 2018. A trend that has been ongoing for years.
The average number of children per woman in the country was 1,46 in 2010. Today it is 1,27. The number drops to 1,18 for women with Italian citizenship, reaching an all-time low.
And the outlook is bleak. According to the report by the expert group “Demography and Covid-19”, the pandemic will have a strong negative impact on births, says Maria Rita Testa, professor of Demography at Luiss University of Rome.
“Relapses, in this sense, were already recorded in 2020, but the biggest impact is expected for 2021. Economic uncertainty and anxiety regarding Covid have a strong impact. And these effects will also be seen in the medium term. In this context, it is not surprising that dog adoptions have increased. It is common sense that suggests a kind of emotional compensation in the short term”, explains the teacher.
Animals play a therapeutic role in the pandemic
For the sociologist Nuccio Bovalino Guerino, professor at the Dante Alighieri University of Reggio Calabria, the increase in animal adoptions is linked to an increasingly urgent need for contact with our most intimate and instinctive part.
“The digital age coincides with an artificial form of communication that has forced our lives onto aseptic and anesthetizing digital platforms. The animals close to us are able to re-tune our lives with the rhythm of nature”, says Bovalino.
To Carla Rochi, president of Enpa, the animal, during this pandemic period, also plays a therapeutic role. “He manages to divert our thoughts from Covid. Furthermore, it completes the family, often made up of mother and child, reintegrating the possibility of creating a circuit that goes beyond the bond of two”.
In 2020, the organization found homes for 8.100 dogs and 9.500 cats.
Animals are increasingly present in our homes. And the family's vision also changed.
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