Abandoned: When pets become disposable

Four rabbits, abandoned in the woods. Two puppies, found behind a hedge and in a rubbish bin. Cases that are shocking, but unfortunately anything but exceptional. On 8 December, the animal welfare association Association Luxembourgeoise pour la Protection des Animaux, Alpa for short, published a post on Facebook about two puppies that had been found. The post was liked over 800 times, commented 170 times and shared over 400 times. The comment section was filled with horror, thanks to the finders and animal rights activists and indignation towards the former owners – people were shocked.

A few days earlier, a state of emergency in German-speaking media: an Instagram post about abandoned rabbits in summer goes viral. The Henstedt-Ulzburg animal shelter published an appeal for witnesses on 23 August: Four free-roaming dwarf rams, those cute ones with the droopy ears, were spotted in Rantzauer Forst near Hamburg. Two can be rescued, one is already dead, probably chased by a dog, and a fourth is found later. The animal shelter files a report and an almost miraculous event occurs: the abandoned animals can be identified. Committed users on Tiktok and Instagram recognise the animals: Momfluencer Alicia Vosgrau had bought them for her children around Easter, posted lots of cute animal stories and then abandoned them in the forest a few months later together with her husband Jan Vosgrau.

No sense of responsibility

A newborn baby, signs of burnout, excessive demands on her family: the influencer apologises publicly in her story and tries to explain herself. Nevertheless, there is a shitstorm, since then the comment function under her posts has been switched off. Unfortunately, no former owner of the puppies from Luxembourg can be identified. It is not known whether there were more puppies in the litter that were abandoned somewhere. However, the two cases show clear parallels and draw attention to a problem that animal rights activists in particular usually struggle with: the lack of responsibility on the part of pet owners. The Vosgrau family actually had two other rabbits that had already died before the scandal broke. Shortly after abandoning the other animals, the couple acquired a second dog, according to accusations on the internet. This can no longer be verified, as all evidence of the animals – apart from the long-time family member dog Snow – has been deleted.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine, the Hamburger Abendblatt, Spiegel and Bild-Zeitung have all reported on the case, and Germany is outraged. The puppy case was also picked up by the media in Luxembourg: the Tageblatt, Luxemburger Wort and RTL all reported on Paola and Jepolina, who are now in care at Casa Perro Animal Rescue and are hoping to be adopted by a new family one day. The little dogs were less than a day old when they were abandoned in the freezing cold – the blood-stained umbilical cord was still hanging from their stomachs. Without the two men who noticed the puppies and reported them to animal welfare, they would not have survived. The police are now investigating this case too, but there is little hope of clarification.