Britain suffers from the highest inflation level ever, at 9.1%, according to the latest statistics.

And the victims were not only humans, but even pets got their share of this crisis, which prompted the British to abandon them because they could not afford it.

The abandonment of domestic animals has increased by 24%, according to the Humane Society (RSPCA), yesterday, Tuesday, due to the cost of living crisis that affected British families.

The association reported that more than 22,000 pets were abandoned between January and July 2022, compared to about 18,000 animals abandoned by the British in the same period last year.

The proportion of rabbits abandoned increased to 49%, cats by 14%, and dogs by 3%.

  • "The idea of ​​putting a cat in a cage and sending it to the forest before releasing it, or throwing a dog out of the car is completely unthinkable and painful for most of the owners of these animals," said Dermo Murphy, a worker at the association. "Unfortunately, animals are constantly abandoned in this way."

A dog participates in the celebration of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in the city of Laustoft, eastern United Kingdom (Reuters)

Pandemic effects

The association attributed the increase in the abandonment of animals to the pandemic, as a large number of Britons were adopting pets during the “Covid-19” period, and then came the living crisis that prompted families to reduce their expenses.

The association indicated that about 20% of animal owners fear that they will not be able to buy food for them.

"We realize that sometimes things can change in an unexpected way, which is shown by the pandemic and the livelihood crisis, but this is not an excuse to abandon animals," she said.

In turn, a worker at an animal rescue center said, "I've been working in this field for 12 years and we've always been busy, but what's happening now is something completely different. It's like the feeling of someone wrestling with water who is about to reach their nose and say: Oh my God. I have no more endurance."

For its part, an association that defends the rights of cats has launched an appeal to Britons who may be interested in adopting cats after the number of cats in adoption centers increased by 46% in one year.

"This rise is directly related to the livelihood crisis," said Peter Shergold of Cats Protection, while other associations have reported an increase in the proportion of animals abandoned.

The Humane Society touched on the case of the dog "Freya", who was thrown from a truck that was traveling at a speed of 80 kilometers per hour, and also talked about 20 puppies that were abandoned in southeast England, in addition to finding 4 snakes inside plastic boxes in south London.

Abandonment of animals, the large majority of which are dogs and cats, rose by 17% in 2021 (about 38,000 animals) when pandemic restrictions were lifted.