Times are very worrying for our rescue, and for pets looking for homes – Covid and the Cost of Living Crisis are crippling our charity and the troubles are spiralling out of control.  There are more animals being given up than there are good homes that want them.   There are also thousands of unwanted cats on the streets – breeding and constantly increasing in number at an alarming rate.

Never in our 21 years of helping cats and dogs have things been this bad.  It’s so bad, Rain Rescue have had to stop taking in any more pets until we get back on our feet.

Between 1st January and 30th June we have taken in 182 cats and dogs into our care 

South Yorkshire Police is raising awareness about responsible dog adoption, to ensure that anyone considering bringing a new pet into their home understands the importance of rehoming from reputable rescue centres and avoiding purchasing dogs from social media without thorough checks.

This crucial warning from specialized officers comes in response to recent incidents where two young children suffered dog bites after their families acquired dogs through social media platforms or rehoming processes lacking proper assessments.

Dog Liaison Officer Rachael Attwell provides valuable insights into the rise of incidents involving dogs obtained through social media. She explains, “We are witnessing an alarming increase in dangerous dogs and incidents of dogs behaving aggressively in our communities, causing fear and harm.”

Attwell continues, “We have observed a growing trend where dogs recently purchased or acquired through social media are involved in such incidents. Sellers often conceal a dog’s behavioural issues in their advertisements, irresponsibly passing the problem onto unsuspecting new owners.”

In light of these concerns, we urge anyone considering adding a new dog to their family to prioritize rehoming from reputable animal shelters or purchasing from trustworthy and genuine sellers.

Dogs rehomed through rescues have undergone extensive behavioural assessments to determine their compatibility with children, including young ones. On the other hand, sellers on social media platforms are primarily focused on selling dogs and may not have your family’s best interests at heart, potentially leading to devastating consequences.

Although kittens are adored, for charities, they represent more than just a cute and cuddly bundle of fur. They come with huge costs and countless hours of labour.

This time of year is when cats are in full swing for mating, which can last from Spring all the way to late autumn! Tiny kittens are born outside – under hedges, in work yards and even in people’s gardens. Just abandoned and all alone.

We already have 9 kittens in foster care and we know there will be many more to come. Our newest arrival, Betty, just gave birth to 5 precious kittens this week and we are anxiously awaiting for Sweetpea & Bonnie to give birth too. They are both due any day now.

We need help to care for these innocent little kittens and vulnerable mums.

Did you know Mums are in our care for around 83 days and kittens for around 68 days before they can be adopted?

The cost of caring for the Mums & Kittens currently in our care is a staggering £3200!!

Sabrina gave birth to Apple, Crumble, Rhubarb & Custard in January

Biscuit gave birth to Cheese & Pickle in February

Betty gave birth to Ethel, Ivy, Rupert, Theodore & Winnie in March

And Sweetpea and Bonnie are due to give birth in April!

If 640 generous people could each donate just £5, it would help us cover this cost and ensure that these precious cats receive the attention and care they need.

With every £50 we receive, we can also help neuter a cat, preventing the birth of unwanted kittens who may be left to fend for themselves.

Your contribution can reduce the number of cats in need and improve their quality of life.

 

You can help by donating to these kitties directly through our website www.rainrescue.co.uk/donate or by donating to our Facebook Kitten Season fundraiser – www.facebook.com/donate/2295011410680988

Yesterday, new legislation was introduced in Parliament making it compulsory for all owned cats to be microchipped. This will help reunite lost or stray cats with their owners. Currently, around 2.3 million pet cats in England are unchipped, making it difficult to identify their owners if they go missing.

Owners have until 10 June 2024 to have their cat microchipped. If they fail to do so, they may face a fine of up to £500. The microchip, which is the size of a grain of rice, will be inserted under the cat’s skin before they reach 20 weeks of age. The registered owner’s contact details will be stored and kept up to date in a pet microchipping database.

The new rules follow a Government consultation in which 99% of respondents expressed support for the measure. The introduction of compulsory cat microchipping was a manifesto commitment and an Action Plan for Animal Welfare pledge.

The Chief Veterinary Officer has praised microchipping as the most effective and quickest way of identifying lost pets. By getting their cat microchipped, owners can increase the likelihood that they will be reunited with their beloved pet in the event of it going missing.

It is important for owners with cats that are already microchipped to ensure their details are up to date. The new legislation will not apply to free-living cats that live with little or no human interaction or dependency, such as farm, feral, or community cats.

Credit to Gov.uk
You will find there original article here.

We need your help to spread the word for all the homeless cats and dogs who are looking for their new family and fresh start!

Maybe you could display one of our posters in your local shop or post office, you could even take them to work to display in your staff room The quicker we can find homes for these vulnerable cats and dogs, the quicker we can start helping others that need us too.

You can keep checking for updated versions and download our posters here – www.rainrescue.co.uk/display-our-posters

Have you seen our latest newsletter?
Find out who our newbies are, great gifts for your Mum this Mother’s Day and even why our field is currently closed for hire!

Check it out here – https://mailchi.mp/rainrescue/will-you-display-one-of-our-posters

Our latest newsletter is an update on all the cats and dogs still looking for their new homes, including our furry friend Ziggy.

Ziggy is an older chap who wants nothing more than to find his retirement home. He has so much love to give and would like to live with someone who has the time to spend with him.

You will also find in our latest newsletter:

• Our gift aid declaration for you to add 25% extra to your donations
• More ways to donate, whether that be a monthly donation or by donating a night of care to a cat and a dog
• A great offer for Natusan Cat Litter. Just £5 for a 10 litre bag off sustainable cat litter!
• And, finally a sad update on our brave boy Merlin who recently had to cross the rainbow bridge

Make sure to sign up to our newsletter, so you do not miss out on any future news or updates at Rain Rescue (Sign up in the section just below the news on our homepage).

You can also read & subscribe to our latest newsletter here:

https://mailchi.mp/rainrescue/say-hello-to-ziggy

https://rainrescue.co.uk/donate/

Are you signed up to our newsletter?

Keep up with all things Rain Rescue when you sign up. From animals ready for adoption, happy updates from animals that found their happily ever after or how you can help Rain Rescue in the future.

This weeks email reminds you of our beautiful girl Star, still waiting for her fur-ever home. It also includes updates on Hilda the Greyhound, stray Mum Sabrina and her new kittens born at Rain Rescue and a lovely cat, Tiger, who was brought to us but then happily reunited with her owner!

https://rainrescue.co.uk/animals/star/

Read & sign up to our latest newsletter here:

https://mailchi.mp/rainrescue/the-star-of-the-show

We would like to say a big thank you to Croft Vets for organising a Charity abseil last weekend. The event was organised to raise funds for ourselves & Dunroamin K9 Rescue. We work very closely with Croft to help us care for any animals that need vaccinations, neutering or any other medical requirements.

Thanks to Croft, all the brave people that took part in the abseil & all the generous people that donated – the event raised around £1400 for our Rescue Centre.

It’s thanks to people like these that we can continue providing the care, love & support these animals need for happier lives.

Our plea about the Cost of Living Crisis was picked up and reported on by the Sheffield Star and we welcomed Errol to the centre where he took some amazing photos and videos of the dogs and cats looking for homes, and a couple of our lovely team.

https://lnkd.in/eYnMbu-x

Times are tough in rescue, and very hard at the moment, with signs, it’s going to get even worse.

Our online and offline supporters are what keep us here day by day, year by year – for the last 20 years, and looking forward to being here to help in the next 20.

Thank you to our supporters – keep with us! it’s a bumpy ride ahead.

WARNS THE RISING COST OF LIVING IS LEADING 

TO A NATIONAL ANIMAL WELFARE CRISIS

ANIMAL CHARITIES ALREADY SEEING THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE RISING COST OF LIVING

Rain Rescue fears this is the start of an animal welfare crisis caused by a rise in pet ownership rates colliding with cost-of-living pressures. The charity, along with other ADCH members and non-members are seeing an increase in animals coming into its care with many centres already full and others close to capacity, as rehoming slows down and more people are looking to give up their pets.

The Rain Rescue team have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic, helping 430 cats and dogs in 2021.  Since the start of 2022, Rain has rehomed 238 cats and dogs as well as neutered hundreds of cats with their Snip and Chip project. With a waiting list of over 100 cats and 42 dogs, Rain Rescue are at capacity.  The charity is experiencing a reduction of over 35% in their donation income as people feel the impact of the rising cost of living but are experiencing an increase of over 50% in vet fees costs.  Rain Rescue sees a worrying future for these pets. 

Recent research by the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes (ADCH) shows that demand for rescue dogs has declined in the past year while the number of dogs being abandoned is higher in 2022 than 2021 and 2020.   The cat population was at pandemic proportions prior to covid, and this has continued throughout it now, post-pandemic, cats are being abandoned at an alarming rate. Abandoned cats will continue to breed from 4 months of age and usually, full of disease and illness, die a painful and pitiful death on the street.

70% of ADCH member rescues surveyed, report an influx of dogs with behavioural issues.  This is in line with studies indicating that inexperienced dog owners are giving up dogs they acquired during the lockdown and are now unable to care for, due to a variety of factors.

Halita Obineche, Executive Director of ADCH, said: “There was a huge surge in people getting pets in lockdown and we are dealing with the fallout. Inexperienced owners unable to manage pets with behavioural issues caused by poor training and a lack of socialisation; workers returning to the office; and now the rising cost of living, all combining to create a national animal welfare crisis.

“Our members emerged from lockdown struggling with a lack of funds and a dearth of experienced staff. They are overburdened – both in terms of space and the emotional toll of dealing with an epidemic of dog abandonment.”

Within the U.K, 10.2 million people own a dog.  The public and U.K. and European puppy farmers were quick to meet those demands for more puppies as prices escalated over and above those ever seen before.  The PDSA PAWS 2022 REPORT states that 34% of people bought their dog from a breeder, 23% bought from a private sale, 14% bought from a rescue centre and 6% imported one.  The report states that 640,000 dogs were legally imported.  Shockingly, out of the 11.1 million people who own a cat, there are very few statistics of the number of cats bought in the U.K. but even though the U.K. is overloaded with unwanted cats, there was an increase to 6% of cats imported with a figure of 590,000 legally imported.  

During the pandemic, as vets struggled under the volume of newly acquired pets along with the pandemic and ever-decreasing vets, many of these pets haven’t been vaccinated.   and many rescue centres and vets are reporting higher incidences of potentially fatal contagious diseases like Parvo Virus and Distemper being seen and escalating.  Diseases which are preventable with vaccination.  

Now, a high proportion of those pets are unwanted and owners attempting to sell or rehome them.  They hope that rescue centres can simply take them off their hands and somehow manage to improve the behaviour these under-socialised dogs have.  Rescue centres simply cannot cope with these volumes of numbers of unwanted pets and say that rescue centres should not be seen as the solution.  

Rain Rescue and other ADCH members are asking the public to help them.  

• • SHARE the news that rescue centres should not be seen as the first solution to them not wanting their pet anymore.
  • SEEK a reputable BEHAVIOURIST from eg. https://www.imdt.uk.com/ and https://www.apbc.org.uk/
  • ADVISE people to find solutions to keep their pet
  • EDUCATE people to STOP BREEDING MORE DOGS AND CATS 
  • DONATE to Rain Rescue to ensure that we have the funds to keep on helping the truly homeless pets that need us.  

ENDS

For further information or to arrange an interview please contact Jacquie Neilson, 01709 247777/3, info@rainrescue.co.uk.

Notes to Editors

About RAIN RESCUE

• In our 20th year of helping cats and dogs, we need support to ensure we are here for the next 20 years.  In the last 20 years, we have helped over 5000 cats and dogs.  At this rate of increased abandonment, the next 20 years will see a further 9000 dogs and cats asking for our help.

About the Association of Dog and Cat Homes

• The Association of Dogs and Cats Homes (ADCH) is the umbrella group and leading representative charity for dog and cat rescue and rehoming organisations across the British Isles.
• ADCH promotes best practices in animal welfare for dogs and cats. Members encompass charities of all sizes, from the smallest to the largest, plus some Individual members, so the number of people involved measures many thousands.
• ADCH was founded in 1985 with the purpose of developing good practices in the rescue and rehoming of dogs and cats.
• ADCH hosts the UK’s largest animal welfare Annual Conference, welcoming 500 delegates a day over two days.
• Visit www.adch.org.uk for further information.
• ADCH Registered charity no: 1180574
• ADCH Contact Details: Executive Director, Halita Obineche (halita@adch.org.uk; Therese Davall, Member & Administration Manager (therese@adch.org.uk)