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UK sees pet dumping spike
28/04/2008 21:09 - (SA)
London - The number of unwanted pets
being dumped by their owners rose 23% last year, the
RSPCA said on Monday, with people using excuses such as "my cat
doesn't match my new carpet" for getting rid of their animals.
The animal charity said 7 347 animals had been cast aside by
their owners in 2007, up from 5 959 the previous year. Almost
half were cats.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
said it had rescued almost 150 000 wild, exotic, farm and
domestic animals, many which needed help because of the floods
that engulfed much of Britain last summer.
But among those pets that were simply abandoned were a
litter of kittens left in a dustbin bag for refuse collectors
and a rabbit dumped in a box in a crushing machine at a
recycling centre.
Owners had also given bizarre reasons for getting rid of
their pets, such as "my dog hurts my leg when she wags her
tail."
"It is an offence to abandon any animal and there is never
any excuse for doing so," said Tim Wass, chief officer of the
RSPCA inspectorate.
"Last summer we deployed the biggest number of RSPCA staff
for a generation to the rescue of farm animals, horses and other
much-loved pets from the severe floods that swept the country."
The charity said the trend for dumping pets looked set to
continue with 2 621 abandoned animals already rescued this year.
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