Hope Rescue warns of animal welfare crisis with cost of living

Hope Rescue – which takes in stray dogs from Torfaen, Blaenau Gwent, and parts of the Vale of Glamorgan – has issued an urgent warning to the Welsh and UK governments as the cost-of-living crisis continues.

A sharp rise in dog ownership over the pandemic, coupled with the cost-of-living crisis, is leading to more people choosing to give up their pets as they can no longer care for them properly, the charity said.

Dogs rescued from a puppy farm in Carmarthenshire. Picture: Hope Rescue.

Hope Rescue saw an increase in adoption applications through lockdown, but this has since returned to normal levels, but the number of stray, surrendered and unwanted dogs have risen.

Vanessa Waddon, Hope Rescue founder, said: “Many rescues across Wales are reporting the same issues and simply cannot keep up with the demand.

“What’s concerning us the most is the fact we can quite literally see a system that’s already bowing under the constant pressure of abandoned dogs coming in – with owners often lying and claiming they are strays - and a significant increase in responsible but desperate owners pleading with us to take their dogs in as surrenders on a daily basis.

“This is before we even consider the huge spike in dogs we’re taking in that have been seized from illegal and low-welfare breeders who capitalised on the boom in demand.”

The charity recently took in more than 100 puppies and dogs after two local authorities seized them from breeders on welfare grounds.

And last month, Hope Rescue received more than 70 calls from people asking about surrendering their dog, and often dogs.

Dogs rescued from the puppy farm in Carmarthenshire. Picture: Hope Rescue.

Sara Rosser, head of welfare and adoption, said: “It’s so sad to hear owners pleading with us to take their dogs because they can no longer care for them for genuine reasons.

“We are trying our hardest to work through our waiting list, but often there is nothing we can do because we’re at capacity already with abandoned, stray and seized dogs.

“We know we’re seeing a number of fake strays come into our care because, quite simply, we are being told by neighbours and friends that they recognise the stray dogs we post on our social media pages or they send us adverts of the dogs being advertised for sale the day before.

“It’s a very difficult and sad time for a lot of people we fear.”

Eight-week old Freida was handed over to Hope Rescue as she had breathing difficulties. Picture: Hope Rescue

Hope Rescue is continuing to urge dog owners to reach out for help and advice from their local rescue centre rather than abandon their dogs.

The charity said wherever possible it would do its utmost to help owners and their dogs, regardless of the dog’s age, breed or medical condition.

If you are struggling with your dog and rising costs then there are a number of ways you can seek help.

There are a number of pet food banks operating across Wales, including the Pet Food Bank Service in Cardiff which covers most of south Wales. The Blue Cross in Newport and PDSA in Cardiff can help with some vet bills in certain circumstances, dependent on qualification criteria.