Living with a companion animal can be a deeply rewarding experience, perhaps even more so when you’re giving a home to one in need. However, some who opt to adopt may face unnecessary obstacles or feel too discouraged to even engage in the process. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) may be at a heightened risk of encountering unfair treatment and rejection from shelters or rescues.

A study conducted by the non-profit organization Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity used both focus groups and surveys to measure potential risks and biases related to acquiring companion animals. BIPOC participants were recruited from four major U.S. cities: Atlanta, Miami, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia.

Focus group participants were 18 years or older and either had experience living with a companion animal or wanted to acquire one in the future. Survey participants were also 18 years or older and had faced difficulties when trying to secure a companion animal. A total of 311 BIPOC individuals completed the surveys, while 27 BIPOC individuals took part across 10 focus groups. The majority of participants were low-income, with 35% reporting household earnings of less than $15,000.

Participants were asked questions related to three popular sources for companion animals:

1. Animal shelters and rescues
2. Professional or licensed breeders
3. Friends, family, or neighbors

When asked their primary reason for adding a companion animal to their family, participants displayed an ethical mindset. The top five responses were:

• Companionship (76%)
• Emotional or mental health support (60%)
• Safety or protection (40%)
• Help reduce shelter/rescue overpopulation (23%)
• Source of personal responsibility (23%)

Participant Experiences

An alarming 72% of survey participants viewed their experiences as negative when attempting to adopt from a shelter or rescue. Slightly fewer (55%) felt their experiences with professional breeders were also unpleasant. Participants who acquired a companion animal through a friend, family member, or neighbor generally had a more positive experience, with only 23% describing the process as negative. In line with this finding, 77% of participants felt respected and treated kindly when coordinating with friends, family, and neighbors.

In dealing with shelters, 27% of participants admitted to experiencing feelings of disrespect and shame, with 19% sharing they had felt intimidated or treated with hostility and 22% expressing that they were given false information or lied to.

This is in sharp contrast to negative experiences from participants who obtained a companion animal through breeders or personal networks. Only 7% of participants who connected with a breeder expressed feeling intimidated. However, 20% still said they were disrespected and 16% were presented with misinformation. When obtaining a companion animal through friends, family, or neighbors, only 6% felt disrespected, a mere 4% felt they were treated with hostility, and 9% felt they were presented with false information.

Ghosting, Rejection, And Denial

Rather than a negative interaction, some participants reported not having any interaction at all: 25% of participants who’d attempted to adopt from a shelter or rescue reported being “ghosted,” or that their communications went unanswered. For participants who went as far as applying to adopt a companion animal, 31% received no response. Another 36% received a generic rejection with no additional information.

Percentages were slightly lower for participants who faced rejection from a breeder, with 24% receiving an impersonal denial and 23% being “ghosted.”

When attempting to acquire a pet through a personal network, only 15% of participants reported receiving a blanket rejection and 13% reported receiving no response.

Unfair Treatment

A number of participants spoke of the emotional toll of their experiences with shelters or rescues. Some admitted the unfairness they faced led them to question whether they were responsible enough to care for a companion animal. Others felt “unworthy or undeserving” of a companion animal. Another participant bluntly stated, “…we weren’t able to adopt because they were judging us.”

Out With Adversity, In With Equity

Survey participants were given the opportunity to offer solutions for a more positive acquisition experience. The most popular suggestion was for the shelter to follow up post-adoption with more resources for the companion animal’s health and well-being (46%). A close second was to do away with unnecessary barriers that make the companion animal acquisition process unnecessarily difficult (45%). Lastly, 42% suggested more empathy towards the adopter’s financial situation.

Although limitations weren’t clearly stated in the study, results were geographically skewed. Major west coast cities were unrepresented, and there were significantly more survey participants based in Minneapolis (42%) than in Atlanta (23%), Philadelphia (17%), or Miami (17%). In terms of ethnic representation, 51% of participants were Black, while other ethnicities were not as prominently represented. There was also a lack of representation of non-English speakers, as 97% of survey participants cited English as their primary language.

Throughout the study, a common theme expressed by participants was the “privilege” or “exclusivity” of pet ownership. In regards to adopting from shelters or rescues, one participant stated, “They go to the people who have credit cards with no limits specifically for their dogs. And they talk to them about adopt, adopt, adopt, but they don’t come to our neighborhood with that same type of thing, you know?”

Yet, the study’s results reveal that even a 3% increase in BIPOC adoptions would lead to an additional two million shelter animals finding homes. Opening up resources to BIPOC individuals and breaking down unnecessary obstacles in the adoption process is not only a major step forward ethically, it’s a matter of life or death for animals in need.