RSPCA shelters ‘drowning’ in animals amid cost of living crisis

Workers inundated with calls as people have to choose between feeding themselves and feeding pets'

The RSPCA has recorded a 24% increase in pets being dumped this year as shelters report they are drowning in animals" amid the cost of living crisis.

Workers are being inundated with calls from owners struggling to feed and care for their pets. Between January and July this year, the charity received 22,098 animal abandonment reports, up from 18,375 in the same period last year, while in the first five months of 2022, 49% more rabbits, 14% more cats and 3% more dogs were abandoned.