Charity says it dealt with 75 incidents last year involving 100 or more animals living in one property
The cost of living crisis and an increase in people experiencing mental health difficulties have led to a rising number of multi-animal rescues in England and Wales, an RSPCA superintendent has said.
The animal charity this week had to confirm that a shocking photograph of more than 250 poodle-cross dogs found at a property in the UK was not faked with artificial intelligence. The RSPCA took in 87 of the dogs and the remainder went to the Dogs Trust, another charity.
Superintendent Jo Hirst believes the charity has seen an increase in the number of pets being abandoned as people cannot afford their vaccinations or medical care, or find people to re-home accidental litters.
“People abandon animals because of the financial crisis we are all in,” she said. “Sometimes people take them on because they care and then they become overwhelmed, but that whole issue of not being able to say no starts its own problems.”
