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The RSPCA has revealed the level of animal neglect and abandonment in the UK is soaring, with the issue worsening around the festive period.
Figures from the animal welfare charity paint a distressing picture of the struggles faced by animals across the country, as in the first nine months of 2024 alone, its emergency cruelty line recorded 48,814 incidents of neglect.
This marks a nearly 25 per cent increase from the 38,977 cases reported during the same period in 2023.
Neglect of animals does not cease over the festive period, with the charity receiving 775 calls on Christmas Day alone last year with a total of 25,230 reports made to its cruelty line between 18 December and 2 January.
The charity said the surge in pet ownership combined with the mounting financial pressures of the cost of living crisis has created a perfect storm, meaning more pet owners are finding themselves unable to provide the care their animals need.
“During Covid, people sought to own pets because they were looking to have companionship,” RSPCA chief inspector Ian Briggs told Sky News.
“Then after lockdown was released and everyone got back to normal, we were then hit by the cost of living crisis. Then year on year we’re seeing finances stretched for everybody, so we believe we’ve got all these extra people who have pets and now some are feeling the financial strain.”
He added: “Because of the Christmas period, we’re in the middle of winter, heating goes up, electricity costs even more, that adds an additional financial burden to people who are already struggling, and often the first thing they cut back on is their animals.”
The added strain means that many of the organisation’s centres across the country are full, with the charity being forced to spend thousands of pounds on private boarding facilities.
RSPCA spokesperson Suzanne Norbury told the broadcaster: “Our centres up and down the country are absolutely full, and we’re also taking animals into private boarding.
“So when our teams are out there, they rescue animals and we haven’t got space.
“We’re spending money on private boarding facilities at the moment on top of running centres like this one. It’s costing us £26,000 each and every week.”
The charity is working tirelessly to ensure every animal is safe this Christmas. On Wednesday, it shared a story of a starved dog who was dumped on Christmas Day in 2023 enjoying the day in her forever home this year.
Rosie was left to die in a hedgerow last Christmas near Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, and was discovered “hours away from death” at 7.30am on Christmas morning.
This year, she’s spending the day with her new family, with the RSPCA issuing an update on social media reading: “365 days ago, Rosie was found collapsed in a ditch by a dog walker in North Yorkshire.
“Thankfully, her Christmas Day looks a lot different to last year and she is surrounded by a loving family”
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