Brinsley Animal Rescue sees 'massive increase' in abuse of volunteers

Jon Beresford said the shelter had to turn away more cats in January than they rehomed in the whole of 2023

Volunteers at an animal shelter in Nottinghamshire say they have seen a "massive increase" in verbal abuse from people trying to give away their pets.

Brinsley Animal Rescue said it was operating at "full capacity" and was forced to turn away 1,896 pets in 2023.

They included 612 cats and a large number of rabbits.

Trustee Jon Beresford said the cost-of-living crisis, the end of home working and buying from breeders had created the "perfect storm".

The rescue centre spent £1,000 on vet bills for Eric before he was rehomed

Mr Beresford said the shelter had to turn away animals each year but recently things had become "much worse", including the abuse of volunteers.

"We get verbal abuse and people telling us that 'it's our job' but we're volunteers and we do our best," he said.

"People turn up to hand their pets over and when we say we have no space, we get the backlash from that and people give us a one-star review online.

"The abuse, there's been a massive increase, there's no doubt about it."

The rescue centre added a drop in donations of about £30,000 in 2023 also affected the amount of animals they could care for.

One cat, an orange tabby called Eric, was taken in and had £1,000 worth of veterinary treatment before he was rehomed.

The centre had numerous requests for them to take in rabbits

"If you choose to take on an animal from us or somewhere else, it creates space to save another," Mr Beresford added.

"The problem is, too many people are choosing to get pets from breeders or pet shops and not coming to rescue centres."

Mr Beresford said the majority of calls made to them were from people who had been given "poor or no advice" on the needs of the animal.

The trustee added that if anyone takes animal from a rescue centre, they will always take it back, whereas a breeder or a pet shop will not.