How many pets your Queensland suburb adopted

As coronavirus returns workers to their homes, the RSPCA has revealed how many animals great and small have been adopted in every Queensland suburb. HOW DOES YOURS COMPARE?

Queenslanders have continued to adopt animals great and small in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The RSPCA has revealed which suburbs were the biggest adopters in the financial year 2019-20, when a total 7,297 pets were adopted. 4,302 cats and kittens were taken home, as were 2,274 dogs and puppies.

A single pig and 132 guinea pigs were adopted.

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Gympie, Redbank Plains and Kingaroy were the biggest adopting postcodes, with suburbs of satellite cities of Brisbane such as Caboolture and Springfield dominating the top 20.

RSPCA spokesman Michael Beatty said while those top adopting suburbs were also animal cruelty hot spots, most in those regions were going to “terrific homes.”

According to the data, a single pig was adopted in 2019-20. Picture: File.

Mr Beatty also said broad patterns were emerging from adoption data.

“In the inner city, there are a lot more people who are adopting cats or birds. In the outer suburbs, there are a lot more people who are adopting dogs for example,” he said.

Mr Beatty said adoptions were steady despite the COVID-19 pandemic as pent-up Queenslanders sought companionship.

Yoshi, 10, Hana, 12, and Rosa, 6, at home with Oreo the four-month-old border collie cross adopted from the RSPCA. Photographer: Liam Kidston.

“Everyone realises in times of stress the comfort that animals can actually bring,” he said.

Encouragingly, there had been no spike in the number of animals surrendered after lockdown eased.

Among those adopted during the pandemic was border collie-cross-mystery breed Oreo, now four months old, who found a new home in Bardon with mum Katy Le Roy, dad Roland Kum and kids Yoshi, Hana and Rosa.

Mr Kum said Oreo was a welcome addition to the family, especially when life had been turned on its head by the pandemic.

“She’s great company, dogs are capable of bringing endless amounts of love and that’s been very good,” he said.

“She’s grown quite a lot. We just absolutely love her.”