The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) reported this Tuesday (30) that 22.908 pets were abandoned in the first 7 months of 2022, in British territory. In the same period, in 2021, the number was 18.375.
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“The idea of keeping your cat in a carrier and taking it to a secluded place in the woods and then driving away, or throwing your dog out of the car (…) is absolutely unacceptable and heartbreaking,” said Dermot Murphy, head of the RSPCA , to AFP.
“But, unfortunately, every day we see animals cruelly abandoned in this way,” he added. “We understand that sometimes unforeseen circumstances may occur – the pandemic and the cost of living crisis have demonstrated – but there are never any excuses for abandoning an animal.”
The organization attributed the increase in abandonment to the fact that more people adopted pets during the pandemic – and then gave them away – and the high cost of living that affects some owners.
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🐕 Lack of money to feed the pets 🐈
A fifth of pet owners are worried about how to feed their pet, according to a survey carried out by the RSPCA.
Dropouts had already increased by 17% in 2021 (around 38.087 in total) after coronavirus restrictions began to be lifted.
Dogs (14.462) and cats (10.051) were the most affected, but there were also 3.363 exotic pets abandoned, including 685 snakes.
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(With AFP)
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