The RSPCA has revealed a near quarter increase in animal abandonment in Worcestershire.
The area has seen a 24 per cent increase since the cost of living crisis began.
The RSPCA said there were 209 instances of animal abandonment in the county in 2023 compared to 169 in 2021.
The charity said the cost of living crisis and the surge in pet ownership during the Covid-19 lockdown have contributed to the rise in people abandoning their pets.
Its chief inspector Ian Briggs said: "We are seeing a shocking rise in the number of calls reporting pet abandonment to our emergency line during winter with an eye-watering 51 per cent rise in three years.
"Sadly, we expect the trend will continue as more pet owners face financial hardship at this time of year more than any other.
"Our rescuers are regularly coming across dogs in poor health, collapsed and left in isolated spots to suffer a lingering death; sick kittens discarded in cardboard boxes who are lucky to be found alive; or pet rabbits dumped in the wild with little chance of survival against predators."
The RSPCA said there were 3,071 animal abandonment reports during the winter period (November to January) in 2021.
Last winter (November 2023 to January 2024) this rose to 4,630 pets who were reported to have been left to fend for themselves - a 51 per cent increase.
In total, 20,999 abandonment reports were made to the charity’s emergency line in 2023, and according to the latest 2024 figures, (available up until the end of October) 19,067 have been reported this year - which, if the trend continues, will be almost 23,000 reports.
Mr Briggs added: "With the cost of living crisis we are also seeing people having to move out of properties due to financial pressures, and we are increasingly coming across pets who have been left locked in homes alone after their owners have moved out.
"Heartbreakingly, we are seeing many pets left in their own filth - with no food or water, no-one to care for them and no idea if anyone will come to help them."
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