Cost-of-living crisis: Birmingham rescue turns away 53 pets in a day

The owner of a pet rescue centre said she has had to turn away more than 50 animals in a day in the face of soaring demand for help.

Sophie Pepper currently cares for 65 animals at Pepper's Pet Rescue in Halesowen, Birmingham.

The founder said she "can't keep up" with the increase in owners wanting to give their pets to the shelter.

She said she had seen the number of surrender requests triple in the past few months.

Ms Pepper said she turned down 53 animals in one day, such as rabbits, dogs and cats, as people can't afford to keep them.

"It's heartbreaking. I'm constantly worried about what's going to happen to [the animals]," she said.

"People get quite abusive when you can't help them. It's just so chaotic."

She said donations were "dwindling" and the centre was really struggling with fundraising, adding: "I spend my life crying at the moment."

In October, the RSPCA said the number of abandoned pets in England and Wales had increased by 25% compared to the previous year.

Pet owners and rescue centres across the West Midlands said they too were struggling.

The founder of K9 pet shop, Andy O'Brien, set up the bank in Henley-in-Arden six months ago to provide a month's supply of pet food.

"People sacrifice feeding themselves to feed their dogs," he said. "A lot of people are embarrassed to use the bank, but they don't need to be."

Mr O'Brien said he had seen a decline in requests for his dog-walking and training service, which was "not easy".

"We may see more dogs having behavioural problems in the future," he said.

Puddleducks guinea pig rescue in Leamington Spa, which looks after about 150 animals, said it had received double the number of guinea pigs compared to last year.

Its owner Gemma Jennings said it was mainly down to financial reasons.

"I don't tend to judge people... but I get frustrated as a lot don't think about the long term [costs]," she said.

"It is a bit of a strain sometimes. Getting donations is more difficult now."

John Rooney said he was worried about his three cats getting ill because the bills can be very expensive.

"You try and put off going to the vets without compromising their health because of the rising costs."

The 74-year-old, who also has a rabbit, said he was "anticipating cutting back" on household bills as his pets were "household members".

"Treats have become really dear. The cats' comfortable lives are threatened," he added.

Paul Beresford said he hadn't seen a decline in customers at Erdington Pet Centre but said some stock prices had increased by up to 80%.

To cut down on energy, he is switching lights off in his shop and has installed LED lighting.

"At the moment it's quite busy," he said. "[But] the energy contract will rise from £335 to £1000 a month [soon]. There's not really anything you can do."

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home said it had seen a 30% increase in owners wanting to bring their pets into their centres compared to last year.

The charity suggested many were giving up their pets because they "can no longer afford to care for them".

Those looking to get one should understand the long-term costs involved, it said.

"The average yearly cost of owning a pet sits in the thousands: £2,000 for a dog and £1,500 for a cat," Battersea's head of centre operations, Rob Young said.

"We want to prevent dogs and cats needing to come into a rescue centre but we are also here to help owners and we will take in any dog or cat... with no judgement, no matter what the circumstance."

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