Reports of animals being abandoned have sky-rocketed in Cheshire in 2025, according to the RSPCA.
And local incidents raised with the charity are up by 10% in the first 10 months of the year, ahead of a potentially “grim” Winter for pets.
Up to the end of October, 385 incidents of animals being abandoned or dumped in Cheshire were reported to the charity’s emergency line – up from 350 in the first 10 months of 2024.
And with rescuers braced for a further surge over the Winter, the RSPCA has launched a new appeal “The Big Give Back to Animals” in the hope of raising vital funds for frontline officers.
The charity fears for animals across Cheshire over the Winter with “plummeting temperatures and dark nights” placing animals at even greater risk from abandonment.
Across England and Wales, 24,270 abandonment incidents have been reported so far this year – a rise of almost 23 percent compared with the same time period last year (19,727).
RSPCA superintendent Simon Osborne said: “It’s been an incredibly challenging year for many pets, and we have seen a dramatic and heart-breaking rise in abandonments this year.
“And with Winter upon us, with plummeting temperatures and dark nights, we fear things could get even harder in the months to come.
“Sadly, animal abandonment has become so problematic and so tragically widespread, that we’ve seen more incidents every month this year when compared to 2024; and reports have been rising year after year.
“There’s an epidemic of animal abandonment and neglect, meaning our officers are needed now more than ever to respond to those animals in the most urgent need of help.”
Last Winter (Nov-Jan), 5,902 incidents of animal abandonment were raised with the charity – and there are fears the upward trend of cases is set to continue in the coming months.
There were 101 abandonment incidents last Winter in Cheshire alone.
In one incident last year, a cat and three kittens were found by a jogger abandoned in a pet carrier on the edge of a car park at Queens Park in Crewe.
She found the well-hidden carrier with four tabby and white cats inside – a mum and her three babies, aged between eight and ten weeks old.
RSPCA Inspector Leanne Cooper said at the time: “It is never right to leave animals in vulnerable situations like this and people who are struggling with their pets should always seek help and advice.”
Reports of animal abandonment will this year reach their highest point in at least six years – and issues like the ongoing cost of living crisis mean animals need the RSPCA’s support to “survive, heal and thrive” now more than ever.
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