Irthlingborough Nanna animal rescue shelter receiving 'unprecedented' call numbers

The animal rescue shelter in Irthlingborough said it was full with nearly 800 animals in its care

An animal shelter has said it has been handling an "unprecedented" 75 calls a day from people considering giving up their pets.

Nanna Animal Rescue, in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, said the figure had more than doubled in the last four weeks.

Co-founder Petrina Alderman said the reasons included the cost of living.

"Some are just asking for advice and others are looking to desperately sign over their pets - it's bad," she said.

NANNA has taken in a high number of small domestic pets - and now has about 70 guinea pigs that it's hoping to rehome

Nanna (Northamptonshire Animals Needing Nurturing and Adoption), set up in 2004, said that with 800 animals it has been the busiest it has ever been, at a time when it had seen a drop in in its own finances.

Ms Alderman said volunteers normally cared for 700-750 animals - including farm animals as well as pets.

She said the shelter's phone line was now busy from 07:00 until 23:00 and was receiving calls from across the country.

People were blaming the cost of living, changes in circumstances since the lockdown and pet behaviour problems, while some dog breeders had also contacted the shelter to rehome puppies they could not sell.

"Rehoming centres are full throughout the country - [people] are so desperate they are phoning anywhere," she said.

"To begin with it was a lot of lockdown animals - and it's not just cats and dogs, it's rabbits... we've got 68 guinea pigs in.

"There are genuine people that genuinely need to rehome the animal, but you have others who are using the cost of living [as an excuse].

"We've got the biggest waiting list we've had."

Ms Alderman said rabbits can live for many years and families sometimes under estimated their lifespans when buying them

However, while the numbers of animals being handed in to the shelter were peaking, the rates of people rehoming them had dropped by up to 25% due to worries over rising living costs.

Ms Alderman said its finances had been affected as rehoming fees were down, while volunteers - who used to go out fundraising - were now based at the centre to care for the animals as the charity could not risk them catching Covid and being unable to carry out essential duties.

About three months ago, the centre had to temporarily shut its doors to any more animals as funds had run so low.

Nanna said about £5,000 a month was spent on animal food, while vets' bills could veer from £3,000 to £10,000.

The shelter has about 200 cats on its books

Ms Alderman said the aggressive nature of some calls for help were also adding to the centre's challenges.

"The names we're being called because we can't help them at that moment - and 'it's got to happen today' - at 10 at night," she said.

"People are demanding that we find space."

Her advice to anyone wanting to own a pet was to do their research on the type of animal, breed and associated costs, as well as how it might suit their lifestyles both now and during the course of a pet's lifetime.