RSPCA say they’re ‘at capacity’ as it urges people to adopt

It comes after a rise in number of incidents

More than 4000 rescues across the country involved at least ten animals last year, with just under 400 incidents in the south.

The RSPCA says that it is regularly taking in animals kept in heart-breaking and cruel conditions.

The latest comes after more than 250 poodle-cross dogs were rescued from the same property, in one recent incident.

The charity took in 87 of the dogs while the rest were signed over to the Dogs Trust.

As per the RSPCA, due to extenuating family circumstances, the living conditions and number of dogs had spiralled out of control.

An incident where 20 guinea pigs were signed over from a property in the South by an owner who was struggling to cope was another case of a recent large-scale rescue.

The number of incidents in Dorset involving more than ten animals rose from 33 in 2024 to 53 last year.

In Wiltshire there was a similar rise, as across the same period, there was an increase from 24 to 40 incidents.

RPSCA Superintendent, Jo Hirst, said: “We are struggling with rising reports of cruelty and neglect and over recent years more and more of those reports will involve, 10, 20, even 100 animals”.

“And because they’ve been living in large groups, they may need more support until they are ready to find a new home.”

“We currently have more animals in our care than space in our centres. These large animal rescues are adding to already overwhelmed animal centres and local charities”, she added.

“We really need help from animal lovers. If you are considering adding a pet to your home, please consider rescuing. We need extra special homes for some of our animals.”

Hirst says that the growing number of rescues involving large numbers of animals can be partially attributed to mental health issues and hoarding among owners.

Accord to Hirst, serious mental health issues and complex situations involving animal hoarding are in part driving these figures.

“It’s vital that people are able to contact us - or another animal charity - where they have too many pets and are unable to cope”, she added.