A section with key insights from State of Pet Adoption Platform Insights 2025

How rescue pets find homes

There is very little Australian data examining these concepts, with the PetRescue.com.au platform dataset being one of, and likely the largest, source of adoption data in the country. Examining adopter account holder demographics and behaviour alongside patterns in enquiries submitted by PetRescue.com.au users, we can develop a greater understanding of how different adopter markets engage with pet listings in practice.

Looking at enquiry patterns, such as which pets attract interest and how different users interact with profiles, can help members tailor listings and marketing more effectively, improving how pets are promoted and increasing the chances of successful matches.

Of the 175,963 PetRescue.com.au adopter account holders for which location information is available, users were over-represented in two distinct areas:

• 46% of potential adopter accounts were located in metropolitan areas within SEIFA IRSAD Deciles 7-10. This is consistent with national and international trends in rescue pet adoption, and supports that in Australia there is a strong directional flow of pets from lower socioeconomic communities to more advantaged ones.
   
• As expected from the location of several large rescue member organisations, potential adopters were also over-represented in SEIFA IRSAD Deciles 2 to 6 in small rural towns. The majority of member organisations work at a local level, so it is to be expected that the communities in which these organisations reside would adopt available pets at a higher rate than those with no equivalent pet adoption service.
   
• Overall, 75% of enquiries came from metropolitan areas, while just under 60% of member organisations and approximately 65% of listings are located in these areas, reflecting higher adoption demand for pets in these areas.

Home characteristics of PetRescue.com.au adopter account holders by location

Examination of user demographics based on location and socioeconomics highlights the complexity of adopter market demographics and the need for member organisations to understand both their community and the target market for their pets in care to achieve fast, successful outcomes.

Users from rural or regional areas are slightly more likely to have existing pets within the home, have lower SEIFA IRSAD scores on average, and yet submit fewer enquiries than users from higher deciles. This is in contrast to the overall finding that enquirers with pets and children in the home submit more enquiries on average than people from adult-only households.

This likely indicates an interplay between multiple factors impacting adoption competition, resulting in the highest demand for pet and child-friendly pets in metropolitan areas:

🏙️ High number of potential adopters located in metropolitan areas

🐕 High demand for 'popular' pets in metropolitan areas, such as small dogs

🌾 Greater access to informal and other avenues to obtain pets in regional and rural areas, such as accidental litters and informally bred animals such as working dog puppies

✅ Fewer practical restrictions on pet selection for regional and rural adopters, despite being more likely to have pre-existing pets and children in the home

Much like the pattern in account holders, the breakdown of enquiries by SEIFA IRSAD deciles and location has remained steady for at least 6 years, indicating that users most engaged with the rescue sector via PetRescue.com.au are from households with higher income from metropolitan areas.

Additionally, while 74% of Australian pet owners are located in regional and rural areas and most had a household income higher than $100,000 per year, 75% of pet enquiries on the PetRescue platform were from potential adopters located in metropolitan areas.

75% of pet enquiries came from metropolitan adopters, yet 74% of Australian pet owners live in regional and rural areas, pointing to a significant gap in reach and engagement outside major cities.

Where available pets are concentrated in metropolitan areas but many suitable adopters live outside them, there is a clear opportunity to better align marketing and adoption outreach. Pets best suited to more active or spacious environments, like large or active dogs, should be actively promoted to regional and rural audiences, alongside strong, best practice matching. In these areas, where alternative pet acquisition pathways are readily available, a straightforward and accessible adoption experience is key to maintaining engagement and improving outcomes.

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