---

Virginia Beach Animal Care and Adoption Center announced a new initiative to help pets find a home.

Moving forward, all adoption fees will be $1 at the animal shelter, located on Birdneck Road in Virginia Beach.

This is a long-term adoption initiative, new to our shelter, but proven to be successful at many others,” VBACAC shared on social media. Adopters will get the benefit of a low-cost adoption fee when the time is right for them. No holiday special or adoption event needed; this price is here to stay!”

Some social media users voiced concern over the changes, with one writing, “Honestly, this worries me a lot. This IMO will attract people who want animals for nefarious purposes (abuse, bait, sell for medical testing, etc. There is a cost to taking care of a pet. If someone can’t afford to pay your already low adoption fee, how can they afford to take care of that pet at all?”

The shelter responded saying, “We didn’t make this decision ill-informed. Research has been done on this very topic and has shown no correlation between lowered/waived adoption fees and animal abuse or poor quality of life. Our hope in lowering adoption fees for an extended amount of time is that those looking to adopt will not feel the pressure of an “adoption event special,” to adopt and will therefore make the choice to adopt when they have had time to prepare.”

They also provided a link for more info on this topic. Read more here.