Hundreds of guinea pigs 'dumped and neglected' so far this year, says RSPCA

Hundreds of guinea pigs have been dumped and neglected, according to the RSPCA.

In the South East, Hampshire is within the top ten of having the highest number of incidents.

Nationwide, the charity has dealt with 272 so far this year.

Sadly, 66 were abandoned and 153 were given the description of 'neglected'. 

It follows a pattern when the country saw a surge in pet ownership throughout lockdown. 

There was a 68% in visitors to the RSPCA's 'find a pet' page searching for guinea pigs in 2020 when compared with 2019.

Between March and August 2019 there were 61,863 searches for guinea pigs and in the same time frame when the country was in lockdown in 2020 there were 103,703 searches.

The animal charity now fears they may be seeing the start of repercussions from the increase in pet ownership during lockdown when many people were at home. 

RSPCA animal welfare expert Dr Jane Tyson said: "Sadly guinea pigs, along with other small companion animals like rabbits and hamsters, are very misunderstood. 

"What is concerning is that before we have even reached the peak of the summer months our inspectors are already seeing hundreds of incidents involving Guinea pigs, and with many people still at home it is surprising that this is still happening already."

The RSPCA has this summer launched its Cancel Out Cruelty campaign in order to try and tackle the problem.