Characteristics of animal protection non-governmental organizations in the state of Paraná / Brazil: qualitative-quantitative analysis

This study describes characteristics of a sample of 80 dog and cat NGOs. When it comes to the results, we used Content Analysis, t-test and z-test to find the confidence interval for the average time of the NGOs’ existence, and Fisher's exact test to compare the ratio for NGOs with/without shelter. The NGOs are located in 49 of the 399 municipalities of Paraná (12.28%). Curitiba presented the largest number of NGOs (n=16), representing 20% of the total organizations. The average time of existence of NGOs in Paraná is 8.75 ± 7.14 years. The oldest NGO was created in 1972, and the most recent one in 2016, that is, 46 and 2 years old, respectively. Organizations’ main source of income is through donations, in 58.56% (n=65) of the cases; only 7.21% (n=7) of them reported having received government support. Also, 48.75% (n=39) are regulated NGOs, and 56.25% (n=45) of them do not have shelter for reception and housing of dogs and cats. This study concluded that the actions of NGOs supported by civil society, community and government are fundamental to mitigate the overpopulation of dogs.