Skip to content

Newcastle Dog and Cat Shelter faces quadrupling energy bills

BBC Dog sniffing a hand from behind bars in a kennelBBC
The shelter has been taking in animals since 1896

An animal rescue centre has appealed for help as it faces its heating bill increasing fourfold next year.

The Newcastle Dog and Cat Shelter said it expected its annual £50,000 bill to rise to over £200,000.

The cost of heating each individual kennel is predicted to go up from an average of £259 to more than £1,000.

The shelter's general manager, Rachel Kendall, said it was a "perfect storm" because the cost of living crisis meant more people needed its help.

"We're looking at getting more animals brought into our care as people can't look after their animals," she said.

"We're just going to have to get through it and hope the public do support us."

Rachel Kendall, General Manager, Newcastle Dog & Cat Shelter, holding a black cat
As bills increase more people turn to the shelter for help

The shelter has been taking in animals since 1896 and rehomes about 1,000 a year.

It relies on public donations which, amid the current energy crisis, have halved.

Unlike some businesses, it gets no government energy subsidy.

Kitten on cart bed under heat lamp
You cannot explain to a kitten its heat lamp is too expensive

Chief executive Chris Bray said the rise in the cost of bills was the shelter's "biggest challenge".

He said: "They're going up from £50,000 to potentially over £200,000.

"There's no government support for the shelter - none at all.

"We didn't have this on our radar a year ago so now we're really having to struggle to think about how we're going to pay for this."

Presentational grey line

Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].