RSPCA warns against 'crisis' of dumped animals over summer
Animal charity the RSPCA is warning against dumping animals over the summer as it anticipates a surge in calls about abandoned pets.
It received 23,673 calls about dumped animals over June, July and August last year, which it says equates to a call every six minutes and is an 85% increase on the winter months.
1,152 reports came from the West Midlands, the highest of amount from any other region.
RSPCA say the pets are often often dumped in boxes, thrown in bins or left on the side of roads.
Dermot Murphy, RSPCA’S Chief Inspectorate Officer, said: “
Among those dumped last year was a small hamster who was seen being abandoned by a man in Sutton Coldfield in April last year.
A passerby spotted the pet being tipped out its hamster cage in Newham Park, and alerted the RSPCA. The hamster has since been rehomed.
Other instances of pets being dumped in the Midlands include:
A cat fly-tipped with rubbish in Burton-on-Trent
Two cats dumped in cardboard box in Leicestershire
An underweight guinea pig abandoned in Staffordshire