Nearly 80 guinea pigs dumped or neglected already this year in Essex
It comes after a surge in pet ownership during lockdown
So far this year, 78 guinea pigs have been dumped or neglected in Essex.
That is according to the RSPCA, and comes after a surge in pet ownership across the country during lockdown.
There was a 68 percent increase in visitors to the RSPCA’s ‘find a pet’ page searching for guinea pigs in 2020 when compared with 2019.
Between March and August 2019 there were 61,863 searches for guinea pigs and in the same time frame when the country was in lockdown in 2020 there were 103,703 searches.
The general search term ‘guinea pigs for sale’ was used 12,000 times in January 2020, 30,000 in April 2020 and 40,000 in July 2020.
That is an increase during the year of 233 per cent.
More than 2,000 guinea pig incidents have been recorded at the RSPCA since January 2019 with 1,147 in 2019, and 614 in 2020 when the country was largely in lockdown.
The charity now fears they may be seeing the start of repercussions from the increase in pet ownership during lockdown when many people were at home.
RSPCA animal welfare expert Dr Jane Tyson said:
"Sadly guinea pigs, along with other small companion animals like rabbits and hamsters, are very misunderstood.
"We do see instances of abandonment and neglect every year and even in 2020 and 2021, this was no exception.
"What is concerning is that before we have even reached the peak of the summer months our inspectors are already seeing hundreds of incidents involving guinea pigs, and with many people still at home it is surprising that this is still happening already.
"There is support available for owners who feel they cannot cope, abandoning an animal or subjecting them to a life of neglect is never the answer.
"We would encourage anyone struggling to reach out to family and friends, charities and to make their vet aware that they need help."
Anybody who thinks they are able to offer a long term home to a guinea pig can visit the RSPCA’s find a pet page.
The RSPCA has this summer launched it’s Cancel Out Cruelty campaign, which people can find out more about online.