There is an “epidemic” of dogs, cats and other pets being abandoned as owners struggle to cope with the cost of living crisis, the UK’s largest animal welfare charity has said.
The RSPCA said abandonments in England and Wales had risen by almost 25% in 2025 compared with last year, reaching their highest rate for at least five years.
Animal charities in Scotland and Northern Ireland have also witnessed a rise in abandonments, and organisations across the UK are worried there could be a further increase this winter.
The RSPCA’s superintendent, Simon Osborne, said: “We have seen a dramatic and heartbreaking rise in abandonments this year. With winter upon us, with plummeting temperatures and dark nights, we fear things could get even harder. There’s an epidemic of animal abandonment and neglect.”
Up to the end of October, 24,270 incidents involving an animal being abandoned or dumped had been raised with the charity’s emergency line, up from 19,727 in the first 10 months of 2024.
Examples include seven male terrier-cross pups, aged about 10 weeks, who were left outside the gates of the RSPCA’s Doncaster and Rotherham district branch at the weekend as Storm Claudia hit. The puppies were terrified and cramped in a metal cage without food or water.
Daniel Cartwright, the branch manager, said: “It is heartbreaking to think that someone has just discarded them like this. We would urge anyone who is struggling to look after their animals to seek help and support when their pet first needs help, rather than simply abandoning an animal in their moment of need.”
The RSPCA believes the UK’s cost of living crisis has resulted in people struggling to pay for pet food and vet bills. Seven in 10 pet owners are worried about the cost of caring for their animals and a fifth concerned about how they will afford to feed them, according to the charity.
A network of pet food banks has been set up around England and Wales to help people feed their pets, and the RSPCA has launched a money-saving hub on its website with tips on how people can pay for pets.
Another possible reason for the increase in abandonments is the sharp rise in pet ownership during the pandemic. As people have returned to physical workplaces, it has become harder to find care for pets.
Last month a critically ill terrier was dumped in a sports bag at the RSPCA’s Finsbury Park animal hospital in north London. The hospital’s director, Áine Maguire, said: “We can see from our CCTV that the person arrived at 4.06am on foot and left him outside the main front door.”
In September a dog was abandoned at an RSPCA shelter in Sheffield with only a note of his name: Lucky.
Six puppies, believed to be French bulldog-chihuahua crosses, were found abandoned in a black bin bag in a layby in Hull in July. A motorist noticed the bag moving and found the pups inside. They were dehydrated and beginning to overheat.
Other animals abandoned this year include four kittens found in a shopping bag in a litter bin in Penwortham, Lancashire; a hamster discovered in a cage near some bins in Slough, Berkshire; and two tortoises found dead in March in woodland in Harlow, Essex.
Charities in other parts of the UK are also reporting a rise in abandonments. The Scottish SPCA said the number of calls it received in the first half of this year from people saying they needed to give up their pets was up by 20% on the same period last year. In Northern Ireland, the USPCA said each year the number of kittens it was caring for was increasing.
The RSPCA, which covers England and Wales, has launched an appeal to raise money for frontline officers.
