Cornwall RSPCA centre warns of record numbers of abandoned puppies
The centre in St Columb Major has seen 11 unwanted puppies already in 2023
A Cornwall rescue centre warns they're 'overwhelmed' with the rise of abandoned puppies in the county,
The RSPCA Cornwall Branch has reported seeing record numbers already this year, getting in 11 puppies in the first two weeks of 2023.
They warn there has been a huge rise in the number of unwanted and abandoned puppies in the county and it is continuing to put pressure on the local charity.
Emily Bowen, CEO of the RSCPA Cornwall Branch in St Columb Major, said: "We're just pleaing with people to stop breeding and just think about it.
"It takes a lot of effort to look after a litter of puppies and those people who are doing it for the money and not really doing it for the welfare of the dogs".
"It puts huge pressure on ourselves"
The rescue centre saw a total of 54 puppies in 2022, compared to just one abandoned puppy in 2020.
The charity has now launched an appeal to discourage people from breeding dogs, saying local rescue centres are becoming overwhelmed.
The self-funded centre says they've been overwhelmed by requests from the public to help with unwanted puppies - many struggling to care for them due to the cost-of-living crisis.
Emily added: "In 2020 we only saw one puppy and that's kind of been the norm in previous years. During the pandemic we had two years of over 50 puppies coming in to our care.
"It puts huge pressure on ourselves as a rescue centre because puppies are very time consuming as many people who own them will know. We've got a large number of dogs here who have behavioural problems that are older dogs and some which we really struggle to rehome that we need to get behavioural advice which we can provide".