The RSPCA is urging people to consider adopting a pet, to help free up space in their overwhelmed centres. Rising cruelty and neglect in animals around the UK have led to a six-year high of animals in RSPCA care, with almost half in emergency boarding due to full centres.
New figures reveal that the number of incidents involving ten or more animals has increased nearly 70% in four years.
Last year, the charity responded to 4,200 incidents which involved at least 10 animals at the same address, a significant increase on previous years, almost five mass cat incidents and three mass dog incidents every day.
There were 75 large-scale incidents involving 100 or more animals being rescued from the same property last year alone. These involved a rescue of dogs, horses, birds and cats from squalid conditions on a farm, a large number of pedigree cats rescued in poor health, 20 guinea pigs being signed over in South England by someone struggling to cope, and 30 alpacas rehomed in the Midlands when the owners were struggling to cope.
The RSPCA also assisted Devon and Cornwall Police in the removal of more than 100 cats, a dog and a tortoise from a three-bed house, working with other charities to ensure that all animals were successfully rehomed within three weeks. The charity also worked with the Dogs Trust to rescue more than 250 poodle-cross dogs from one property (pictured above).
This rise in multi-animal incidents has been linked to mental health difficulties, the cost-of-living crisis, or breeders operating with poor practices. Sometimes the situations can result well-meaning individuals simply seeing situations spiral out of control. The RSPCA ask that if anyone is at a stage where they, or someone they know, is struggling with the numbers of animals in their household, to get in touch.
Many animals in RSPCA care have been rescued from severe cruelty and neglect, requiring extensive care and rehabilitation before they can be rehomed, and many are involved in legal cases, which can delay rehoming even further.
“We are struggling with rising reports of cruelty and neglect and over recent years more and more of those reports will involve, 10, 20, even 100 animals,” says RSPCA superintendent Jo Hirst. “And because they’ve been living in large groups, they may need more support until they are ready to find a new home. We currently have more animals in our care than space in our centres. These large animal rescues are adding to already overwhelmed animal centres and local charities.”
