Local charity Warrington Animal Welfare has announced it is reaching a “crisis point” in animal admissions due to the cost-of-living crisis.
Due to the high levels of animal surrenders and admissions the charity has reluctantly had “to temporarily close our doors to new cat, dog or rabbit admissions.”
Warrington Animal Welfare detailed that they have recently been faced with the challenge of rehoming 55 animals despite already overstretched resources. The charity stated “we are operating at
above capacity and are being inundated day in and day out with people wanting to rehome their unwanted pets. Whilst this goes against our values of trying to help any animal in need, we urgently need to find homes for the current cats, kittens, dogs and rabbits in our care before we can take any more in.”
Now they are appealing to pet owners and the public to show respect for staff and volunteers in light of the charity’s difficult decision.
Pressures from the cost of living crisis have emerged alongside issues from the pandemic.
Warrington Animal Welfare trustee Julie Pickett said: “The charity feels that there has been a rise in pet ownership rates during lockdown and we are now dealing with the fallout”. Pickett noted “combined with inexperienced owners purchasing pets”, the charity is seeing an influx of dogs with behavioural issues and poor socialisation. Neutering appointments were difficult to obtain during the pandemic, leading to increased populations of cats and kittens and further challenges around rehoming.
The charity has also seen an increase in surrenders due to owners being unable to pay vet fees. With rescues across the country struggling to cope, the increasing cost of living is feared to create a national animal welfare crisis.
A spokesperson for Warrington Animal Welfare added: “We would wish that before any person purchases a pet, they take into account their lifestyle, the 10-20 year commitment of pet ownership, consideration of the costs involved of responsible pet ownership which not only includes the basics of feeding the animal. People need to consider pet insurance and veterinary costs and enrichment for their animals. By far, in our opinion, the most important thing you can do is to neuter your pet. Unless we stop this cycle, there will be a saturation point where ultimately, innocent animals could die.
“Equally important, if you are in a position to offer a nice home to an animal, we welcome applications via our website. Ultimately, the more animals we can find homes for, the more we can help in the future. Sadly, our Charity has emerged from lockdown with a lack of funds, our team of staff volunteers are overburdened at times, both in terms of space available and the emotional toll of dealing with this crisis.”
