Bedfordshire’s RSPCA says they were called to over 300 reports of abandoned animals in Bedfordshire last year.
The local branch said there were 311 abandoned animals reported to them in 2021 and already 153 up to the end of July this year.
Nationally, the charity received a heartbreaking 38,087 reports of abandoned animals last year.
That’s an average of 104 a day, or four reports every hour.
The charity says the number of animals being dumped is also on the rise nationally with a 17% increase from 2020 to 2021 and a 24% increase in 2022.
From January to July 2021 there were 18,375 abandonment reports compared to 22,908 in the first seven months of this year.
Cost of living crisis
Fears that the huge rise in pet ownership during the pandemic is now putting a strain on people’s finances due to the cost of living, forcing some to give their animals up.
Dermot Murphy, Chief Inspectorate Officer at the RSPCA, said some of the ways pets have been abandoned is unthinkable, with cats being left “in the woods” or dogs being “chucked” from cars before the owners drive off “leaving them desperately running behind the vehicle”.
“Sadly we are seeing animals callously abandoned like this every single day,” he said.
“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.”
The Animal Kindness Index from YouGov showed that 78% of pet owners think the cost of living will impact their animals.
Almost seven out of 10 (68%) also expressed concern that the cost of care was increasing, and a fifth (19%) worried about how they’ll afford to feed their pets.
The study also showed cat owners seem to be most impacted and concerned about the cost of living pressures.
Busiest period
Nationally, the RSPCA receives around 90,000 calls to its cruelty line every month but in the summer (July and August) calls rise to 134,000 a month and reports of cruelty soar to 7,600 each month, which is 245 every day.
- 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 callously dumped in 2021.
- There were also 3,363 abandoned exotic pets reported to the RSPCA including 1,455 fish and 685 snakes.
In Bedfordshire, two female domestic ducks were abandoned along with two others in August 2021.
Sadly two of the four birds were attacked and killed by wild mink. The two remaining were rescued by fishermen.
A man was spotted abandoning the ducks just before midnight on July 25 at the Tiddenfoot Waterside Park in Leighton Buzzard.
The fisherman managed to save one of the injured birds and called the RSPCA for help.
Despite some injuries, the ducks, who have now been called Frieda and Geraldine, have now recovered and the pair are ready for rehoming.
Stories from across England and Wales
One of these was Freya, who was thrown out of a truck driving at around 50mph, and abandoned in Yalding, Kent, in January this year.
The RSPCA is now asking for help so they can continue to rescue and help animals in need and to Cancel Out Cruelty. To help support the RSPCA, visit rspca.org.uk/stopcruelty.
If you cannot donate, you can help support the RSPCA’s Cancel Out Cruelty campaign by volunteering with the charity, holding a bake sale or fundraiser, or taking part in the #50MilesForAnimals challenge.
