Gulf Coast Shelters Fill Up With Four-Legged Oil-Spill Victims

Animal shelters and charities along the Gulf Coast are seeing a spike in the number of surrendered pets as a result of the BP oil spill, writes the Associated Press.

Several coastal parishes in Louisiana began reporting an increase in such pets immediately after the disaster, said Dean Howard, of the state’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

In gulf areas heavily populated by fishermen and oil workers, whose livelihoods have been disrupted by the disaster, many pet owners can no longer afford to feed their animals, or have been forced to give up their houses for apartments that bar pets. In addition, public employees and others involved in the massive cleanup and relief efforts are turning in animals they no longer have time to care for.