More than 2,600 reports of abandoned animals made to RSPCA last year in Cambridgeshire
As part of the RSPCA’s Cancel Out Cruelty campaign, the charity has revealed it received more than 100 reports of animals being abandoned every single day throughout 2021, and sadly these figures are on the rise this year.
A total of 38,087 abandonment reports were made to the charity’s cruelty line last year - an average of over 3,000 reports a month, 104 a day or four abandoned animals every hour. In Cambridgeshire, there were 2,679 abandoned animals reported to the RSPCA in 2021 - shocking figures which place the county as the second highest with Greater London as the county with the highest abandonment figures.
Up to the end of July, there were 391 reports in Cambridgeshire and, heartbreakingly, the number of animals being dumped is also on the rise with a 17 per cent increase from 2020 to 2021 and a 24 per cent increase in 2022.
The charity fears that a huge rise in pet ownership during the pandemic coupled with the cost of living crisis putting a strain on people’s finances means even more animals are being given up this year.
Dermot Murphy, chief inspectorate officer at the RSPCA, said: “The idea of putting your cat in a cat carrier and taking them to a secluded spot in the woods before walking away, or chucking your dog out of the car and driving off leaving them desperately running behind the vehicle, is absolutely unthinkable and heartbreaking to most pet owners - but sadly we are seeing animals callously abandoned like this every single day.
“We understand that sometimes the unexpected can happen - the pandemic and cost of living crisis proved that - but there is never an excuse to abandon an animal. There are always other options for anyone who has fallen on hard times and can no longer afford to keep their pet.”
From January to July 2021 there were 18,375 abandonment reports compared to 22,908 in the first seven months of this year - a rise of 24 per cent. Dogs were the most abandoned pet with 14,462 reports of dumped dogs made to the RSPCA last year.
Cats were the second most abandoned pet with 10,051 reports of cats being dumped in 2021. There were also 3,363 abandoned exotic pets reported to the RSPCA including 1,455 fish and 685 snakes.
In Cambridgeshire, two newborn puppies, pictured below, were found abandoned in a box in a field in Peterborough on July 2 beside a mound of fly-tipped rubbish. The shocked members of the public who discovered them rushed them to a pet day care centre who transferred them to vets for urgent care.
[Read more: RSPCA receives nearly 600 reports of dog cruelty in a year in Cambridgeshire, Deer stuck upside-down in four-inch fence gap in Fulbourn rescued by RSPCA]
The puppies - believed to be just two or three-days old - were given emergency care but, sadly, one didn’t make it. The second - named Billie by rescuers - was taken in by a fosterer to be hand-reared, and the RSPCA launched an investigation.
The RSPCA’s rescue teams need support to stay out on the frontline as the only charity rescuing animals and investigating cruelty:
- £2 could help to provide a meal for a dog in its care
- £6 could help pay to feed a dog for a day in its care
- £10 could help pay towards bandages for a dog
- £15 could help pay for a cat or dog’s clinical exam
- £500 could kit out a 4x4 inspector van
To help support the RSPCA, visit rspca.org.uk/stopcruelty. For more on Cancel Our Cruelty, go to bit.ly/3A24w8j. If you cannot donate, there are other ways you can help Cancel Out Cruelty, from volunteering with the RSPCA, holding a bake sale or fundraiser, or taking part in the #50MilesForAnimals challenge.
