Study: People won't adopt rescue animals that look bad in selfies
ORLANDO, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - A very sad new study says that many animals in shelters are overlooked for adoption because of their physical appearance and how they look in photos.
The RSPCA surveyed 2,000 British adults and found that 44 percent consider an animal's physical appearance when adopting. Around 19 percent admitted that taking selfies and photos of their pets is important.
The study also revealed that around 56 percent of potential adopters surveyed said that they would skip over a photo of an animal on a shelter's website or social media if it wasn't cute enough.
According to RSPCA, many breeds have a harder time finding forever homes than others. For example, English bull terriers can take up to 98 days to find a home.
Black cats are also harder to adopt out because they are tough to photograph and can stay at the RSPCA up to 30 days.