By Klaudia Hostynska
Rescue centres and charities are seeing more and more animals coming into their care despite being at their full capacity, making this a “not only a human crisis but animal welfare crisis” said Ellie Huff, 26, who works for one of the smaller animal rescues.
During the pandemic many people adopted pets to keep them company at home, and an increasing number were abandoned once the lockdowns ceased. Now more owners are being forced to give up their furry friends as they cannot afford to provide for them any longer as a result of the deteriorating economy.
Dermot Murphy, the Chief Inspectorate Officer at the RSPCA, told Metro: “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.”
The most difficult decision
Huff, who works for Safe Haven Animal Rescue in Orpington, Kent, says it can often be very difficult decision for owners to give up their furry friends.
“Despite not having a lot of space as my rescue is obviously small, I feel heartbroken everyday, so far I think I had at least over fifty phone calls from owners calling me crying and asking if I can take their dog in,” Huff told Holloway Express.
Most people simply do not have a choice but to surrender their pets, and they seem to feel safer putting them into small rescue centres, where they believe they will be taken care of better.
Staff is overwhelmed
“Our biggest problem right now is that nobody is adopting really, people have to rent out smaller homes and can barely provide for themselves so it’s no surprise that we have so many animals to look after now,” said Asha Rodgers, 45, who manages Safe Haven rescue.
The soaring numbers put a lot of pressure on the working teams, causing sleepless nights and overtime hours to provide appropriate care.
Volunteers are also hard to find. “We are going through a crisis the same way the owners are, our energy bills are up, rent is up, everything is up and it’s not like we can afford to employ more people,” said Huff.
“To find a volunteer is impossible these days everyone needs to make a living somehow.”
Rescues are inundated
Workers in rescue centres are “being inundated with calls from owners struggling to feed and care for their pets”, the Guardian reported.
It said that between January and July last year, the RSPCA received 22,908 reports about animals being abandoned, up from 18,375 in 2021. “In the first five months of 2022, 49% more rabbits, 14% more cats and 3% more dogs were abandoned,” the Guardian said.
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