RSPCA Radcliffe Animal Centre appeals for pet food donations as owners cope with cost-of-living crisis

RSPCA Radcliffe Animal Centre is appealing for pet food donations as owners come under increasing pressure due to the cost-of-living crisis.

The centre contacted local foodbanks and found they were in need of pet food supplies, and so the charity is now doing its bit to help by collecting donations and distributing them to foodbanks accordingly.

The animal centre donates pet food to foodbanks in Nottinghamshire as and when it is needed to ensure that owners who have fallen on hard times can still feed their pets.

Radcliffe also gives pet food to local RSPCA inspectors for members of the public they visit who are struggling and finding it hard to meet the demands of feeding their pets alongside their families.

Ella Carpenter, manager of RSPCA Radcliffe Animal Centre, said: “Our message to people is to always ask for help if you need it and we will do whatever we can with the resources we have to help both animals and people in our community.

“We made contact with the local foodbanks so that if any of them contact us with people who have expressed a need for pet food then we can distribute the food to them. This helps to ensure that the support reaches across all of Nottinghamshire and to those people and animals that are most in need.

“Sadly, it seems as though the cost of living increase means that more people are struggling to afford to feed their pets and are relying on the foodbanks more and more.

“We are now bracing for an influx of abandoned pets or owners who have to give them up because they can no longer afford to keep them but we hope that through the foodbank we will be able to provide some support to people and their much-loved pets.”

It comes as the RSPCA releases its inaugural report, in partnership with the Scottish SPCA — the Animal Kindness Index — which looks at the nation’s attitude towards animals.

The report, based on a YouGov survey of more than 4,000 UK adults*, revealed that the rising cost of living and the cost of pet ownership could threaten our love for our pets, with 72% of pet owners saying they think the cost of living will impact their animals.

Almost 70% expressed concern that the cost of care was increasing, and a fifth were worried about how they’ll afford to feed their pets. The study showed cat owners seem to be most impacted and concerned about cost of living pressures.

In the East Midlands, 70% of people said that the cost of looking after their pet had become more expensive over the last 12 months; while 27% said they were worried about being able to afford to properly care for their pet, and 17% said they were worried about the cost of feeding their pets.

The RSPCA is seeing an increase in rescued animals coming into its care with many centres already full and others close to capacity, at the same time rehoming is slowing down and signs that more people are looking to give up their pets.

Research by the charity shows in April 2021 there were around 4,400 searches per month around ‘giving up pets’* and in April 2022 this figure rose by 50% to a high of 6,600.

*The total sample was 4,102 UK adults and the results have been weighted to be representative of the UK population aged 18+, the survey was carried out by YouGov April 13 to 25.

Donated pet food can be dropped off at the animal centre during opening hours.