Overview
- Across the first ten months of 2025, an abandonment was reported to the RSPCA’s emergency line roughly every nine minutes it was open.
- Last winter saw 5,902 abandonment incidents nationally, and the charity says this year’s reports are on track to be the highest in at least six years.
- Regional data highlight pressure points, including 1,697 incidents in Staffordshire, 1,031 in Outer London and 666 in Inner London to the end of October.
- Local trends show varied increases, such as 8.1% more cases in Shropshire (161 incidents) and a 1.5% rise in Cambridgeshire (264 incidents) compared with 2024.
- Recent cases used to illustrate the crisis include a seriously ill dog left in a sports bag outside Finsbury Park Animal Hospital and two kittens found tied to a fence in Craven Arms.