The number of animals abandoned in Buckinghamshire rose by more than a tenth last winter, new date shows. 

Figures from the RSPCA show 189 pets were abandoned last winter in Buckinghamshire, up 14 per cent from the 166 in 2020-21. 

Across England and Wales, 4,630 abandonment report calls were made, compared to 3,071 the year before. 

This was a 51 per cent rise on three years ago and has been branded 'shocking' by the RSPCA. 

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Chief inspector Ian Briggs said: "Sadly we expect the trend will continue as more pet owners face financial hardship at this time of year more than any other.

"Our rescuers are regularly coming across dogs in poor health, collapsed and left in isolated spots to suffer a lingering death; sick kittens discarded in cardboard boxes who are lucky to be found alive; or pet rabbits dumped in the wild with little chance of survival against predators."

Mr Briggs said financial pressures associated with the cost-of-living crisis have forced some people to move out of their homes, which has resulted in an increasing number of pets left behind and locked in empty properties.

He added: "Heartbreakingly they are unable to survive for long in their own filth — with no food or water, no one to care for them and no idea if anyone will come to help them."

In total, 20,999 abandonment reports were made to the charity’s emergency line in 2023, up 30% from before the cost-of-living crisis in 2020.

For more information about how to support the RSPCA’s Join the Christmas Rescue appeal, see www.rspca.org.uk/jointherescue.