RSPCA shelters inundated with animals as cost-of-living crisis deepens

Charity sees 24 per cent increase in pets being handed in to shelters as bills soar

The number of pets being abandoned in RSPCA shelters has increased by nearly a quarter amid the cost-of-living crisis.

The animal charity said it had experienced a spike of 24 per cent in animals being left at shelters this year as cash-strapped Britons struggle with their energy bills.

And more dogs, cats and other pets face being dumped in compounds as people divert more of their cash towards covering gas and electricity bills, which are set to rise again in October.

The price cap on gas and electricity bills stands at £1,971 for a typical house in England but is expected to jump to around £3,600 in October after the regulator intervenes amid the global rise of wholesale gas prices, partly fuelled by Russia's war in Ukraine.

Between January and July this year, the charity received 22,908 animal abandonment reports - up from 18,375 in the same period last year - while in the first five months of 2022, 49 per cent more rabbits, 14 per cent more cats and 3 per cent more dogs were abandoned, The Guardian reported.

One RSPCA shelter in Worcestershire said it was “absolutely rammed with animals”.

“At times we feel like we are drowning and battling to rescue, care and rehome the endless stream of animals we are seeing,” Claire Wood, a volunteer at The Holdings rescue centre in Kempsey, said.

The RSPCA said it had also seen a 9 per cent increase in calls to its emergency helpline this year.

Many of those calls came from people struggling with vet bills; its latest survey found that 19 per cent of pet owners were worried about how to pay for their animals in future.

A dog in a shelter waits to be matched with an owner (Getty Images)

“We’re now really seeing the issue of the cost of living crisis," Ned Cotton, manager of The Holdings centre, said. "People are having to choose between feeding themselves and feeding their pets. It’s a horrible situation for a lot of people to be in.”

He added: “I’ve worked in animal rescue for 12 years and we’re always busy, but this is different. It’s like our nose is just above water and you just feel like: God, this is almost too much."

It comes after Battersea Dogs and Cats home issued a separate warning about animals being abandoned.

The trend, which follows a surge in demand for pets during Covid pandemic lockdowns in a country known for its love of animals, comes as households brace for energy bills to more than triple in January on last year, hammering people's incomes.

The Bank of England has also warned the UK is about to go into a recession which could last several months.

Dogs Trust, which has 692 dogs needing homes in 21 centres across the country, said the last time it had seen anything like this was in the wake of the 2008 financial crash.

"This cost of living crisis has crept up on us a lot more quickly than people ever expected," said the trust's operations director Adam Clowes.