There’s been a huge increase in animal neglect and abandonment in England and Wales and the RSPCA’s rescue centres are “absolutely full”, according to the charity.
New figures show there were 38,977 incidents of neglect reported to the RSPCA’s emergency cruelty line between January and September 2023.
But for the same period in 2024, there were 48,814 – a 25% increase.
The number of animals dumped in winter has also doubled.
“Our centres up and down the country are absolutely full, and we’re also taking animals into private boarding,” said RSPCA spokesperson Suzanne Norbury.
“So when our teams are out there, they rescue animals and we haven’t got space.
“We’re spending money on private boarding facilities at the moment on top of running centres like this one. It’s costing us £26,000 each and every week.”
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It means the charity is trying to absorb extra costs of £1,352,000 a year for emergency boarding.
Image: RSPCA spokesperson Suzanne Norbury said centres are full
At their rescue centre at Frankley near Birmingham, Damon is one of many cats looking for a new home.
He was a stray found on a building site with a broken jaw and has had to have it wired back together at the animal hospital here.
Image: Damon had his jaw wired back together
‘The first thing they cut back on is their animals’
Ian Briggs, a chief inspector for the charity, said: “He must have been in considerable pain, and it was only due to a member of the public letting us know that we were able to intervene and give him the treatment he needed.”
“During COVID, people sought to own pets because they were looking to have companionship.
“Then after lockdown was released and everyone got back to normal, we were then hit by the cost of living crisis. Then year on year we’re seeing finances stretched for everybody, so we believe we’ve got all these extra people who have pets and now some are feeling the financial strain.”
He added: “Because of the Christmas period, we’re in the middle of winter, heating goes up, electricity costs even more, that adds an additional financial burden to people who are already struggling, and often the first thing they cut back on is their animals.”
Image: Damon the cat
Animals found in appalling conditions
Last year, the charity rescued 34 animals from a house in Walsall, including 24 dogs, who’d been kept in appalling conditions.
They were found surrounded by hundreds of empty dog food cans, and faeces.
Following an RSPCA prosecution, two people were disqualified from keeping all animals for life.
They also received suspended 20-week custodial sentences after pleading guilty to offences including failing to provide the animals with veterinary care, a suitable living environment or taking reasonable steps to protect them from pain, suffering, injury and disease.
The animals were rehabilitated at various RSPCA rehoming centres, including the centre at Frankley.
One, a Staffordshire bull terrier cross, was rehomed in the summer.
Image: Sarah Potter with her new cats
‘We needed to give two homeless cats a home’
Cats Peter and Paul are the lucky ones being picked up to be taken to a new home while Sky News was filming at the centre.
Sarah and Martin Potter are taking them back to Worcestershire.
“We recently lost a cat,” said Sarah, “and the house is just completely empty”.
“We’ve just got so much love to give, that we needed to give two homeless cats a home ready for Christmas”.
It can, though, take years for other animals to be re-homed and there are now more than ever needing a new start.
One girl has died and another is in a critical condition after a tree partially collapsed at a park in Essex.
The girls, aged seven and six, suffered serious injuries when they were among a number of children caught beneath the tree at Chalkwell Park in Southend.
Essex Police confirmed the seven-year-old girl died in hospital and her family is receiving support from specialist officers.
Three other children suffered minor injuries following the incident.
An East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called at 2.55pm to reports that a tree had fallen in Chalkwell Park in Chalkwell.
“Six ambulances, three ambulance officer vehicles, the London Air Ambulance and Kent Air Ambulance were sent to the scene.”
Police said an investigation is continuing into what caused the tree to collapse.
‘Unimaginable hardship’ for families
Chief Superintendent Leighton Hammett said: “Families are facing unimaginable hardship this evening and all of our thoughts are with them at this time.
“I cannot begin to put into words how difficult today’s events have been, and continue to be, for them.
“It’s also not lost on me how traumatic it must have been for the members of the public who witnessed this awful incident.
“Across a matter of moments, many of them went from enjoying the warm summer weather to rushing to the aid of strangers without a second thought.”
Chief Sup Hammett also paid tribute to police, ambulance and fire crews who “did all they could,” adding that “today’s loss is one they will all take personally”.
Death is ‘truly devastating’
Local MP David Burton-Sampson said: “The news of the sad death of one of the children involved in the incident at Chalkwell Park today is truly devastating.
“I am sure I reflect the thoughts of all our residents here in Southend in sending my deepest condolences to the child’s family and friends.
“My thoughts are also with the other children injured and I wish them a full and speedy recovery.
NHS funding could be linked to patient feedback under new plans, with poorly performing services that “don’t listen” penalised with less money.
As part of the “10 Year Health Plan” to be unveiled next week, a new scheme will be trialled that will see patients asked to rate the service they received – and if they feel it should get a funding boost or not.
It will be introduced first for services that have a track record of very poor performance and where there is evidence of patients “not being listened to”, the government said.
This will create a “powerful incentive for services to listen to feedback and improve patients’ experience”, it added.
Sky News understands that it will not mean bonuses or pay increases for the best performing staff.
NHS payment mechanisms will also be reformed to reward services that keep patients out of hospital as part of a new ‘Year of Care Payments’ initiative and the government’s wider plan for change.
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Speaking to The Times, chief executive of the NHS Confederation Matthew Taylor expressed concerns about the trial.
He told the newspaper: “Patient experience is determined by far more than their individual interaction with the clinician and so, unless this is very carefully designed and evaluated, there is a risk that providers could be penalised for more systemic issues, such as constraints around staffing or estates, that are beyond their immediate control to fix.”
He said that NHS leaders would be keen to “understand more about the proposal”, because elements were “concerning”.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “We will reward great patient care, so patient experience and clinical excellence are met with extra cash. These reforms are key to keeping people healthy and out of hospital, and to making the NHS sustainable for the long-term as part of the Plan for Change.”
In the raft of announcements in the 10 Year Health Plan, the government has said 201 bodies responsible for overseeing and running parts of the NHS in England – known as quangos – will be scrapped.
These include Healthwatch England, set up in 2012 to speak out on behalf of NHS and social care patients, the National Guardian’s Office, created in 2015 to support NHS whistleblowers, and the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB).
The head of the Royal College of Nursing described the move as “so unsafe for patients right now”.
Professor Nicola Ranger said: “Today, in hospitals across the NHS, we know one nurse can be left caring for 10, 15 or more patients at a time. It’s not safe. It’s not effective. And it’s not acceptable.
“For these proposed changes to be effective, government must take ownership of the real issue, the staffing crisis on our wards, and not just shuffle people into new roles. Protecting patients has to be the priority and not just a drive for efficiency.”
Elsewhere, the new head of NHS England Sir Jim Mackey said key parts of the NHS appear “built to keep the public away because it’s an inconvenience”.
“We’ve made it really hard, and we’ve probably all been on the end of it,” he told the Daily Telegraph.
“The ward clerk only works nine to five, or they’re busy doing other stuff; the GP practice scrambles every morning.”
A haul of cocaine worth nearly £100m has been seized at a UK port, authorities say.
The haul, weighing 2.4 tonnes, was found under containers on a ship arriving from Panama at London Gateway port in Thurrock, Essex.
It had been detected earlier this year after an intelligence-led operation but was intercepted as it arrived in the UK this week.
With the help of the port operator, 37 large containers were moved to uncover the drugs, worth an estimated £96m.
The haul is the sixth-largest cocaine seizure in UK history, according to Border Force.
Its maritime director Charlie Eastaugh said: “This seizure – one of the largest of its kind – is just one example of how dedicated Border Force maritime officers remain one step ahead of the criminal gangs who threaten our security.
“Our message to these criminals is clear – more than ever before, we are using intelligence and international law enforcement cooperation to disrupt and dismantle your operations.”
Container ships are one of the main ways international gangs smuggle Class A drugs into the UK, Mr Eastaugh said.
Cocaine deaths in England and Wales increased by 31% between 2022 and 2023, according to the latest Home Office data.
Elsewhere this weekend, a separate haul of 170 kilos of ketamine, 4,000 MDMA pills, and 20 firearms were found on a lorry at Dover Port in Kent.
Image: One of the 20 firearms found at Dover Port. Pic: NCA
Experts estimate the ketamine’s street value to be £4.5m, with the MDMA worth at least £40,000.
The driver of the lorry, a 34-year-old Tajikistan national, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of smuggling the items, the National Crime Agency said.