Cost of living crisis sees fewer animals adopted across the East
There has been a 25% rise in number of abandonment incidences
Fewer people across the East are adopting pets due to the cost of living crisis.
More animals are being abandoned and there is a growing risk for their safety during the winter period.
That's according to Suzanne Norbury from the RSPCA, who tells us: "Our frontline team have seen a 25% rise in the number of abandonment incidences and a 13% rise in the number of neglect incidences so it really is a concern for us.
"We’re doing all we can to keep our teams on the roads rescuing animals at this time of year and also doing what we can to help animal owners keep their pets.”
What is the situation like across the East of England?
This year the charity is braced for even greater demand than usual across the patches, due to the rising cost of living.
The charity has also revealed that there were 587 calls to the emergency helpline about abandonment and neglect in Essex last winter.
372 of these calls in Norfolk last winter.
244 of these calls in Suffolk last winter.
These statistics are expected to be a lot higher this year.
There were 30,500 incidences of neglect by October 2022
The incidents of neglect being dealt with by teams has also risen, with 30,500 by the end of October 2022, compared to 27,521 over the same period in 2021.
The RSPCA’s most recent figures show that to October 2022, RSPCA rescuers dealt with 13,159 incidents of abandonment. This has risen from 10,519 for the same time period the previous year.
Last winter (start Nov to end Feb) the RSPCA received a total of 251,431 (two hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and thirty-one) calls to the RSPCA emergency helpline last winter - a shocking 2,095(two thousand and ninety-five) a day, or 87 an hour.
There is a food bank scheme for animals
Suzanne says: "We’ve recently created a food bank scheme so anyone who is struggling can access pet food.
"We have a specialist cost of living page on our website with hints and tips of what people can do…as a charity, we’re really doing all we can to make sure let’s stay at home with their owners this Christmas."
The RSPCA say, tens of thousands of meals have already been donated, transported and given out.
There is also dedicated cost of living support being offered by the RSPCA with a recently opened telephone helpline to support callers who are worried about the cost of living crisis.