Centre ‘worried’ as cost-of-living crisis hits hard
CHARITY SAYS MORE AND MORE OWNERS ARE ABANDONING PETS
THE cost-of-living crisis is causing concern at a Nottinghamshire animal centre, with more families feeling they cannot afford to keep their pets and the centre’s own bills rising.
The RSPCA Radcliffe Animal Centre is working hard in a “very worrying time” to make sure they can continue providing for the animals.
Rising bills are having an impact on families across the county, many of which are struggling to look after themselves and their pets.
Centre manager Ella Carpenter said: “We got a huge increase in adoptions and enquires about wanting pets during the pandemic, but then the cost-of-living crisis obviously hit and post pandemic people went back to work.
“Sadly it’s becoming a reality that people are parting with animals for lots of different reasons, some inevitably because the novelty has worn off. The cost of living is having an impact with people having to accept promotions that they perhaps would have not normally considered or realising they can’t afford to turn them down, changes of hours and even people changing jobs for different positions because they are forced to look at their circumstances.
“Some people may have been ready to retire and gone back to work, and all of those things and the inevitable not being able to afford vet bills or feeding their animals in the long term, the worry is setting in.
“Depending on a family’s circumstances those are decisions people are having to make.”
The Radcliffe centre is working with food banks to make sure that people have enough supplies if they are struggling to feed their animals.
Ella added: “It’s really a community effort, trying to recognise those people who are in the greatest need for their animals and making sure the help gets to where it needs to.”
While the animal centre carries the RSPCA logo and works with the charity, the Radcliffe centre is a separately registered trust focused on helping animals locally. If people want their donations to go to the centre, they have to directly donate it to the shelter, rather than the RSPCA as a whole.
The cost-of-living crisis is also hitting the centre.
Ella explained: “We try and budget as best we can, we try to make predictions and arrangements for the coming year, but everyone is in the same situation. There’s not really much concern that you’re a charity. We’ve got utility bills going up just like everyone else, but its also the cost of repairs and the cost of maintenance as everyone is having to put up their prices.
“Meeting those costs is usually challenging but now it is even more so, and it is a concerning time where we have to make sure we spending money as wisely as we can. Obviously the animals come first, but we have a future to look after as well and making sure we are here in the future and able to finance everything, and the usual appeal to the public if they can spare a little bit to help.
“And if everyone did that then obviously we can continue to make the lives of animals very different and improve their outlook to the future and that’s what we strive to do all of the time. We thought the pandemic was challenging, but we expect in 2023 there will be more animals coming in to us so it’s imperative that we make sure the support is there for them.”
Shortly before the pandemic hit,
Don’t abandon your animals, as irt means they come to us with no history and it makes them hard to rehome thgem
Ella Carpenter
the centre completed its new reception and education building with is more cost effective.
Ella added: “It’s half a million pounds a year just to meet the running costs, which is mostly made of veterinary costs, treatment for animals and direct care for animals.”
While the centre tries to plan in advance, there is only so much staff can do in the current climate. Following the rise in adoptions over the last few years with the pandemic the centre is seeing more families feel they can no longer look after their pets, but Ella wants to remind people to not just abandon
their animals and to please take them to a centre if they can no longer care for them.
She said: “Please don’t abandon your animals, as it means they come in to us without history and we are left to piece together bits of information which makes it really difficult to treat animals and find them the right home and work with them. The more information we have about where animals come from and their past the better.”
The centre is running a Christmas appeal, asking people to donate a shoebox with treats, toys or blankets for a rabbit, cat or dog.