More than 80 rabbits and guinea pigs removed from 'squalid' house
The RSPCA is now looking to find the animals new homes
An urgent search is underway to find new homes for more than 80 rabbits and guinea pigs removed from a property in Bognor Regis.
The pets were found in dirty and overcrowded conditions in the back yard of the home by RSPCA officers earlier this month.
The charity said that many of the animals were found living in small hutches and makeshift pens, some without sufficient food or hay.
The discovery emerged when a member of the public contacted the RSPCA after responding to an online post offering a pair of guinea pigs for sale.
They persuaded the overwhelmed owner to sign over 45 guinea pigs and 38 rabbits into their care, so they could be given proper care and then rehomed.
The animals are currently in the care of the RSPCA's Sussex North and Brighton branch, which is overseeing the massive rehoming exercise.
RSPCA inspector Rebecca Carter said:
"This shows perfectly the problems you get when owners don’t get on top of the situation, and how quickly things can spiral out of control.
"The owner had started with two rabbits, but didn’t realise one was male and the other female, and soon there were many more.
“The numbers of guinea pigs had grown for several reasons; the owner’s friends left guinea pigs with her and she had also bred some litters, It is much harder to rehome male guinea pigs, so she had been left with so many which made up most of the guinea pigs found on the property.
"The conditions were wet, dirty and cramped -and weren't helped by the rapid escalation in animals. Things had got totally out of control."
She added that the owners was 'really upset' at how things had escalated, and that she was now working with the RSPCA to reduce the numbers further.
Most of the rabbits, who are mainly Netherland Dwarf breeds and some lops, were found to be in a healthy condition.
But all the guinea pigs had mite infestation, and three have since sadly had to be put to sleep because of their condition.
A further 15 of the creatures have been placed with an approved foster carer.
The RSPCA has urged rabbit owners to prevent the growth of unwanted litters by neutering and sexing their pets after the charity fielded a big 48% rise in the numbers arriving at its animal centres and branches last year.
Many of these are full to capacity while rehoming rates from branches dropped by 23% between 2019 and 2022.
Jenny Eden, branch manager at the Sussex North and Brighton RSPCA, said:
"Most of the rabbits are quite young, while the guinea pigs, who are mainly boys, range from a few weeks to one who is four years old.
"We will neuter them and find them good homes. We have been inundated with rabbits in recent times and space really is at a premium, but we have sorted out some temporary housing on site to make sure these bunnies and guinea pigs will have a comfortable stay while they are with us.
"This shows why it is important to neuter your pets. No-one can possibly look after this number of animals, although it is fair to say that this isn’t a typical case of animal hoarding."
Anyone interested in adopting any of the guinea pigs and rabbits in the care of the Sussex branch will need to fill in a perfect match form via the branch’s website.