A TOTAL of 38,087 abandonment reports were made to the charity’s cruelty line last year – an average of over 3,000 reports a month, 104 a day or four abandoned animals every hour.

In Essex, there were 854 abandoned animals reported to the RSPCA in 2021 and 750 so far this year (Jan-Jul 2022) – a 51% increase from Jan-Jul 2021.

Heartbreakingly, the number of animals being dumped is also on the rise nationally with a 17% increase from 2020 to 2021 and a 24% increase in 2022.

The charity fears that a huge rise in pet ownership during the pandemic coupled with the cost of living crisis putting a strain on people’s finances means even more animals are being given up this year.

The animal welfare charity has released the stark figures as part of its Cancel Out Cruelty summer campaign which aims to raise funds to keep its rescue teams on the frontline saving animals in desperate need of help as well as raise awareness about how we can all work together to stop cruelty for good.

Dermot Murphy, Chief Inspectorate Officer at the RSPCA, said: “The idea of putting your cat in a cat carrier and taking them to a secluded spot in the woods before walking away, or chucking your dog out of the car and driving off leaving them desperately running behind the vehicle, is absolutely unthinkable and heartbreaking to most pet owners – but sadly we are seeing animals callously abandoned like this every single day. 

“We understand that sometimes the unexpected can happen – the pandemic and cost of living crisis proved that – but there is never an excuse to abandon an animal. There are always other options for anyone who has fallen on hard times and can no longer afford to keep their pet.”

From January to July 2021 there were 18,375 abandonment reports compared to 22,908 in the first seven months of this year – a rise of 24%.

A recent report released by the RSPCA in partnership with the Scottish SPCA also showed that the cost of living crisis is the most urgent threat to pet welfare in the UK.

The Animal Kindness Index* showed that 78% of pet owners think the cost of living will impact their animals, almost seven out of 10 (68%) expressing concern that the cost of care was increasing, and a fifth (19%) worried about how they’ll afford to feed their pets. The study also showed cat owners seem to be most impacted and concerned about cost of living pressures.

This worrying survey comes at a time when the charity is at its busiest period. The RSPCA receives around 90,000 calls to its cruelty line every month but in the summer (July and August) calls rise to 134,000 a month and reports of cruelty soar to 7,600 each month – a devastating 245 every day.

Dogs were the most abandoned pet with 14,462 reports of dumped dogs made to the RSPCA last year. Cats were the second most abandoned pet with 10,051 reports of cats being callously dumped in 2021. There were also 3,363 abandoned exotic pets reported to the RSPCA including 1,455 fish and 685 snakes.

In Essex, a staggering 20 puppies were found abandoned in a crate on a layby near Fryerning, on Friday 29 July (pictured above).

The puppies were all inside a crate and were found by a kind-hearted member of the public who was walking in the Blackmore area on Friday at around 3pm. 

The finder called the RSPCA and Inspector Sian Ridley and Animal Rescue Officer Enola Evans  attended the call and discovered 20 small puppies shut in the metal crate.

They collected the pups and took them straight to a local vet for treatment. One of the puppies was very weak and was being kept warm by a member of the public when the officers arrived but sadly died. 

The surviving pups were all small and each weighed less than a bag of sugar – there were 14 males and five females. It is believed they are from two or possibly more separate litters. 

One of these was Freya, who was thrown out of a truck driving at around 50mph, and abandoned in Yalding, Kent, in January this year.

It’s a miracle that the frightened terrier wasn’t seriously injured when she was thrown from the moving vehicle like a piece of rubbish. Thankfully, witnesses spotted Freya being dumped and she was taken to the vets who found her to be underweight, suffering from fleas with a matted, dirty coat. After discharging her, she was taken in by the charity for care and rehabilitation and has now found a loving new home.

Inspector Kirsten Ormerod, who launched an investigation into the incident, said: “Freya was incredibly lucky to survive after being hurled from the moving vehicle at such a high speed and vets were incredibly concerned that she may have suffered internal bleeding so performed surgery immediately. 

“Witnesses described her being thrown with such force that she landed on the opposite side of the road, and the vehicle didn’t stop or even slow down.”