Chinchilla rescue group overflowing with surrendered animals

Mickey the chinchilla, when perched on the shoulder of his owner, turns heads on the streets of Scarborough with his large ears and small furry body.

"He's relaxed," his owner Sean Adams says. "I've literally taken him practically everywhere with me."

Many chinchillas in the Greater Toronto Area, however, aren't so lucky. 

Tanya Campbell, founder of the Canadian Chinchilla Rescue, said her rescue is overflowing with chinchillas due to surrenders from owners who got the small pets during the COVID-19 pandemic to ease their loneliness. She said the rescue is feeling the strain. The city of Toronto says its animal shelters are also seeing a surge in the number of animals being surrendered.

"I've never seen so many animals at shelters, at rescues," Campbell said. "We just can't keep up."

Campbell runs four foster homes that house chinchillas for adoption in Toronto, Mississauga and North York. There are 43 chinchillas total living at those homes, she said, 30 of which are at her current residence now. She said that's 15 more than she's comfortable accommodating.

The animals are often advertised as being hypoallergenic. However, they bathe in fine dust, live on wood shavings and eat hay, making them a less than ideal pet for people, Campbell said.

"The stuff they have makes it horrible for people with allergies," she said.

And that's the top reason they are being surrendered by their owners, Campbell added.

She said seven of the chinchillas living in her homes are "permachins," or chinchillas nobody will adopt because of health problems or other reasons.

The Canadian Chinchilla Rescue, an organization that Campbell founded 15 years ago, has a wait list of six to 12 months to accept surrendered chinchillas. Campbell said she receives around 10 surrender requests every month and adopts out only one to three animals in a good month.

According to Campbell, the number of surrendered animals outpacing the number of adopted animals is a legacy of the pandemic, when many people got pets on a whim without fully understanding the responsibilities involved.

"Many people wanted to get a pet," Campbell said. "I shut down adoptions [during the pandemic] because I knew people were just getting a for-now pet instead of a forever pet."

But as life has returned to normal, many pet owners have found themselves ill-equipped to handle pet ownership. The result is a flood of animal surrenders, overwhelming shelters and rescues across the GTA, Campbell said.

City officials agree.

"Toronto's animal shelters are currently experiencing high demand, especially dogs being surrendered," Elise von Scheel, a city spokesperson, said in an email.

According to data provided by the city, there have been 1295 pet surrenders and only 878 pet adoptions so far this year. Since 2020, city data has shown more pet surrenders than adoptions. The data includes all types of pets, and Toronto Animal Services noted that chinchillas are very rarely surrendered to their shelters.

In response to the need, the city said it is waiving all animal adoption fees from Aug. 23 to Sept. 3 to encourage adoptions. However, mandatory pet licenses and associated fees, along with all pre-adoption screening requirements, remain in effect.

"It's heartbreaking when you get emails with people asking for help, and I just cannot take in any more animals," Campbell said.

'Make sure this is a pet you want'

Chinchillas have a long lifespan of 15 to 20 years and can hide illnesses until they are seriously sick, leading to high vet bills, Campbell said. They are also not cuddly lap pets. Most prefer to run and jump, needing lots of space.

"Chinchillas can jump six feet," Campbell said. "They will jump off you."

One common misconception is that chinchillas enjoy being held, an image often portrayed on social media. Mickey in Scarborough, for his part, seems to be an exception.

"Don't believe everything you see on Instagram," Campbell said. "The majority of them are hands-off."

As shelters grapple with the influx of surrendered animals, Campbell urges potential pet owners to do their research and consider adopting from a rescue or shelter.

"Educate, research, make sure this is a pet you want," she said.

"I'd love to retire from this but I just can't because there's so many chinchillas that need help."