A new digital platform to connect potential pet owners with shelters has been launched, with the aim of solving the problem of thousands of pets going homeless in the UK every year.
Animates is free to sign-up to and works by hosting each shelter’s residents on its website. People searching for a new pet can browse by species, breed, and location, before viewing each animal’s personal profile.
They can use the platform to learn useful information, such as age and level of training, as well as how active the pets are and what animals they get on with.
The site, which launched last month, already hosts over 1,000 cats and dogs from 323 shelters across the country, with more being added each week.
It comes as Animates warned that many of the 250,000 animals that are handed in to shelters each year remain homeless. The platform now aims to “change this damaging buying pattern by making it easier for people to put rescue first”.
The platform also supports shelters by allowing users to make a direct donation, of which 100% goes straight to the shelter.
When making a donation, visitors to the site can choose to donate money towards a specific animal’s care or to the shelter as a whole.
Luke Fribbens, founder and CEO, said: “As passionate animal lovers, it’s heartbreaking to see so many cats and dogs go homeless every year. And this year, with demand for pets higher than ever, we knew was the right time to help make a permanent change in how we approach pet ownership.”
