Reports of animals being abandoned are on the up in West Sussex this year, according to the RSPCA.

The largest animal welfare charity in the UK has launched an urgent winter appeal.

The campaign, called the Big Give Back to Animals, aims to support local frontline efforts.

“Reports of animals being abandoned are on the rise in West Sussex this year – with local incidents raised with the RSPCA up by 29.4 per cent in the first ten months of the year, ahead of a potentially ‘grim’ winter for pets,” an RSPCA spokesperson said.

A member of staff plays with an American Pocket Bully at an animal shelter. The RSPCA says pet abandonment in the UK is up due to sustained cost of living pressures and changing habits following the Covid pandemic. (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)

placeholder image — A member of staff plays with an American Pocket Bully at an animal shelter. The RSPCA says pet abandonment in the UK is up due to sustained cost of living pressures and changing habits following the Covid pandemic. (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)

"Up to the end of October, 198 incidents about an animal being abandoned or dumped in West Sussex had been raised with the charity's emergency line.

"That’s compared to 153 incidents reported during the same time period last year.”

With charity rescuers braced for a ‘further surge in reports’ over the winter months, the RSPCA hopes to raise vital funds for its frontline officers.

RSPCA superintendent Simon Osborne said: “It’s been an incredibly challenging year for many pets, and we have seen a dramatic and heartbreaking rise in abandonments this year.

The largest animal welfare charity in the UK has launched an urgent winter appeal. The campaign, called the Big Give Back to Animals, aims to support local frontline efforts. Photo: RSPCA

“And with winter upon us, with plummeting temperatures and dark nights, we fear things could get even harder in the months to come.

“Sadly, animal abandonment has become so problematic and so tragically widespread, that we've seen more incidents every month this year when compared to 2024; and reports have been rising year after year.

“There’s an epidemic of animal abandonment and neglect, meaning our officers are needed now more than ever to respond to those animals in the most urgent need of help.”

The charity said it fears for animals across West Sussex over the winter season with ‘plummeting temperatures and dark nights’ placing animals at ‘even greater risk from abandonment’.

The spokesperson for the RSPCA added: “Across England and Wales, 24,270 abandonment incidents have been reported so far this year – a rise of almost 23 percent compared with the same time period last year (19,727).

“That means – in the first ten months of this year – an abandonment incident was reported to the RSPCA’s emergency line every nine minutes it was open.

“Last winter (November to January), 5,902 incidents of animal abandonment were raised with the charity – and there are fears the upward trend of cases is set to continue in the coming months. There were 37 abandonment incidents last winter in West Sussex alone.

“Reports of animal abandonment will this year reach their highest point in at least six years – and issues like the ongoing cost of living crisis mean animals need the RSPCA's support to ‘survive, heal and thrive’ now more than ever.”

Overall in 2024, 23,564 abandonment incidents were reported to the RSPCA – higher than in 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020, the charity revealed. The trend will continue in 2025 – with calls already higher than the whole of 2024.

The RSPCA said the number is ‘spiking amid the challenging backdrop’ of the cost of living crisis, economic uncertainty and ‘people's increasingly busy lives’.

Mr Osborne added: “Times are tough, right now – and animals are paying the price. Reports of abandonment are set to reach their highest mark in at least six years, and the worst could be yet to come as we enter a grim winter period.

“But animals are sentient; they feel joy, fear, love and pain, just like we do. They give us so much, and ask for so little. Sadly, without help, many animals will die this winter – scared, suffering, and unloved.

“Thankfully, there is hope – and I am so proud of the RSPCA's efforts to help dumped pets survive, heal and thrive, and go onto a better life. Every year, we find loving new homes for tens of thousands of pets, and rescue countless animals from situations of hopeless cruelty and neglect.

“But none of this work is possible without the kindness and generosity of our supporters. Every pound and penny people give goes towards creating a better world for every kind of animal.”

The Big Give Back to Animals campaign is raising vital funds for the charity, helping them to bring more abandoned and neglected animals to safety, where they can be given urgent care and treatment.