RSPCA centre in Aylesbury braced for summer of suffering

New figures from the RSPCA show a spike in cruelty cases during the summer. The charity says they're bracing for a summer of suffering in Buckinghamshire and beyond.

The RSPCA gets around 90,000 calls to its cruelty line every month, 6,000 of which get investigated. In the summer, the number of calls jumps to 134,000 - three every minute. Over 7,500 of those are looked into.

Last year, there were over 100 reports made in Buckinghamshire and they're anticipating this summer will top that.

Rob Hartley, Chief Inspector at RSPCA Blackberry Farm Animal Centre in Aylesbury, said, "we believe the main reason for the rise in incidents reported to us are due to coming out of lockdown. A lot of people took on pets and they're now having difficulties dealing with those pets."

He added, "also, we've got the cost of living crisis at the moment which means people are not only struggling to feed themselves but also their pets."

The charity has launched its Cancel Cruelty campaign to raise money to help rescue teams save animals and stop animal cruelty for good.

Keeping animals cool

As the hot weather continues, they're also encouraging people to keep their pets, particularly dogs, cool during the rising temperatures.

Some of their tips include, never leaving dogs in hot cars, ensuring they have access to plenty of shade, putting ice cubes in their water bowls, and giving them a damp towel to lie on.

Julie Allen, Animal Centre Manager at RSPCA Blackberry Farm, said, "if you do need to walk, go early, early or late evening."

"My stance on it is, no dog has ever died from not going out for a walk for one day. But they have died from going out for a walk in this sort of heat."