Worcestershire sees sharp decline in dog rehoming

There has been a sharp drop in the number of dogs rehomed in Worcestershire, the RSPCA has reported.

The number fell 17% from 351 in 2020 to 289 in 2021 and there were also falls in the number of cats and other pets found new homes, the charity said.

Nationally, the number of dogs which were found new owners dropped by 6%.

The RSPCA said pets were being given up because of the "devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis".

The charity said that nationally the average time it took to find new homes for dogs had risen by 9.4% to 93 days in 2021.

It said many of the animals were being brought into care showing signs of "behavioural challenges which could be linked to how they were bred as well as lockdown".

The RSPCA said this would have limited the amount of training, socialising and exposure to the outside world they had.

Overall, the number of animals rehomed nationally fell by 8% in 2021, but that was an improvement on the previous year when rehoming fell by 31% during the height of coronavirus pandemic.

The only good news in Worcestershire was the number of rehomed rabbits rising in 2021, but there were relatively few of them - up from 16 to 28.

The RSPCA has launched its annual Adoptober campaign to encourage prospective pet owners to consider giving a rescued animal a new home.

It said it could save money to take on an adopted pet, because many of the animals in its care would already be neutered, vaccinated and treated for fleas and worms.

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