Rise in abandoned pets reported by UK animal charities

The number of pets housed at animal shelters or abandoned over Christmas and the new year has risen sharply, according to UK animal charities.

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home said it was unable to cope with numbers of pets arriving and, for the first time, has had to create a waiting list.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8462858.stm


Abandoned pets 'on the rise'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/the_p_word/newsid_8016000/8016579.stm

The RSPCA dealt with 11,586 rejected animals last year which equates to an average of 30 animals every day.

The charity says the problem could also be getting worse with another 1,432 animals dumped in the first two months of 2009.

What's more, the number of people who have called the RSPCA because they want to get rid of their pets is up by 52 per cent.

With the increase in workload, the charity also expects to struggle with a reduction in donations as a recession-hit country reigns in its finances.


RSPCA says pets are falling prey to a throwaway society

The number of pets being abandoned by owners in the UK has grown by almost 25 per cent in a year, raising concern that animals are the latest victims of a “throwaway society”.

Figures from the RSPCA, the country’s biggest animal welfare charity, also show that half of the 7,347 animals rescued from the streets last year were cats.

The RSPCA rescued nearly 150,000 animals last year. Farm animal rescues were up by 96 per cent and those of horses and ponies up 66 per cent. This was largely because of the severe flooding that swept the country. For the second year more wild birds were rescued than any other species. The figure was 40,910, down on the 2006 total of 48,221.


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3828089.ece