The cost of energy to heat one’s home and with which to do one’s daily tasks such as cooking, is becoming prohibitive in the UK. A lot of people are turning off their heating or turning it down and wearing several layers of clothes instead, inside their homes.
The cost of day-to-day living, for some, is becoming almost intolerable in the UK. It’s a worry. Pensioners with little disposable income are particularly vulnerable and the Labour government has just pulled the plug on the winter heating allowance of £200 given to these pensioners. It’s just another extra squeeze on one’s finances, making it a little harder.
And The Times has a headline reflecting this problem today in the newspaper: “More pets will be abandoned as energy bills rise”.
Blue Cross is an animal welfare charity which runs four animal hospitals and 11 rehoming centres across the UK. They fear a greater surge in the number of people giving up their pets than before and these abandonments are already running at quite a high rate with a 79% rise in dog abandonments this year and a 25% rise for cats admitted to their Blue Cross centres. Further, this follows a 32% increase in all abandonments last year.
This is a worrying picture. Blue Cross tells us that more than 1,050 animals including 10 horses have been abandoned into their care since the beginning of last year.
It’s about the cost of cat and dog caregiving and fuel costs are becoming prohibitive as stated. On one occasion a person abandon their kitten outside one of their centres with the following note:
“I cannot afford to feed and look after my beautiful cat. Please look after my cat in a way that I cannot. May God forgive me.”
It is heartbreaking because the person hated what they are having to do. But if one is being really tough, you could argue that this person should not have adopted the kitten in the first place. If they had projected forward and looked at the possible difficulties that might arise bearing in mind a tight budget which must have been the case then they arguably should not have adopted the cat in the first place.
I’ve always advocated for people making a tough assessment of their financial means and lifestyle before adopting because this is a commitment for the life of the animal. It is a heavy responsibility and things like pet food are becoming very expensive. They become almost rip off expensive on occasions. I’m thinking of Hill’s Prescription diet foods. On Amazon the prices can be ridiculous. Far more expensive than human food. I see this as a rip-off with the sellers tapping into the emotional connection that cat and dog owners have for their companion animals and using it to their advantage in an immoral way.
In the UK, energy bills will rise again this autumn. As mentioned there’s been a cut in the winter allowance which combined with a 9% increase in the cost of gas and electricity in October will force many older people into making heartbreaking choices about feeding themselves and their families or giving up their companion animals.
Blue Cross is urging cat and dog owners to use their pet food banks if they are struggling financially. They want them to ask for help rather than abandon their companion animals.
Blue Cross helps 85,000 pet owners through their pet food banks in Sheffield, Exeter, Newport, Bicester and Manchester.
The chief executive of Blue Cross, Chris Burghes said:
“It’s extremely worrying to see more pets being abandoned but we fear we may see more this winter if bills jump again as people are really struggling. Our pet food banks provide a vital lifeline for owners who need help and we’d urge anyone struggling to seek help from us rather than abandon their pet. Pets are part of the family and for so many they are their only family or companion, their only reason to get up every morning. We know the sacrifices many owners will make to keep them including ensuring their pets are fed instead of themselves. We want to help keep pets and people together as much as we can rather than people being forced to make the difficult decision to give up their pet.”
