WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES
AS the RSPCA kicks off its Christmas fundraising campaign, the charity has highlighted one of its most “horrendous” cases of animal neglect in the West Midlands.
The charity rescued 34 animals from a house in Walsall which was littered with waste, with cats found crammed into guinea pig cages and a puppy found with a broken leg.
RSPCA officers had to wear protective suits and face masks because of the overpowering smell of ammonia and faeces at the property.
They were confronted with a ‘sea’ of empty dog food cans piled up in rooms and on the stairs and many months’ worth of compacted excrement covered every inch of the house - leaving nowhere clean or dry to walk.
RSPCA deputy chief inspector Vicki Taylor said the squalid living environment was the worst she had ever seen in her 21 years with the charity. The charity is highlighting the case as part of its Join the Christmas Rescue campaign to show the battle frontline rescuers face ahead of what is expected to be another bleak winter for thousands of animals.
Police found the animals in April 2023 and the RSPCA was immediately alerted.
Living among soiled clothing, flies and piles of household rubbish were three people and 24 dogs - including a bull breed type puppy with a broken leg - seven cats, a hamster and two rats, one of which was collapsed and dying.
Four “petrified” cats with urine-stained coats were crammed in filthy guinea pig cages and there was no sign of litter trays or fresh food or water.
The smell of ammonia was so overpowering it caught the officers’ throats and stung their eyes and they frequently had to go outside to catch their breath.
Inspector Taylor, who was joined at the scene by her colleague Inspector Steve Morrall, said: “We were faced with a multitude of animal welfare issues and conditions that can only be described as horrendous.
“All the puppies had been born in the house and it was clear they’d never left the property or been on a lead because they dropped to the floor and didn’t know what to do when we attempted to take them out.
“They were completely unsocialised and many of them were extremely scared. The cats were peeping out from the wire guinea pigs cages, absolutely petrified. Several enclosures had more than one cat crammed in them and their coats were stained yellow from urine, it was a truly squalid existence for them from both a physical and mental point of view.
“The conditions were so dire that none of the animals had anywhere to go that was clean, dry or safe. Every surface was caked in excrement and myself, Steve and the police officers had to keep going outside to breathe in fresh air because the ammonia was overpowering.
“None of the animals had been neutered and I think it was a situation where the owners had probably started off with a few pets which had bred and numbers had then got out of hand over many months. It was a long, difficult and tiring job, but we had great support from the police and it was a wonderful feeling to be able to remove those animals and get them the help they needed.”
The animals were seized from the house by the police as part of the RSPCA’s investigation and taken to the RSPCA’s Birmingham Animal Hospital later that evening where they were examined and treated by vets.
There were so many it took a long time to triage them all, with Inspectors Taylor and Morrell and their colleagues working until the early hours of the morning to make them all comfortable.
On examination, all of the cats were underweight, and several had severe flea infestations and dental disease with holes in their teeth and inflammation of the gums.
Although the dogs - which included 15 bull, terrier and cross breed puppies - had adequate body condition scores, which suggested enough food had been available to most, many of them had red eyes due to the high amounts of ammonia in their living environment and some could not be examined initially because they were so nervous.
The animals were rehabilitated at various RSPCA rehoming centres. They included Raya, a six-month-old Staffy cross and Lazlo, a male Shar Pei type dog.
The rat and two other dogs had to be put to sleep on welfare grounds. Kennel supervisor Kelly Legg from Birmingham Animal Centre, which rehomed seven of the rescued dogs, said: “The smell of the dogs when they arrived made your eyes water. They were all given much-needed baths to clean their very dirty coats and they were also vaccinated and neutered.
"Raya was one of the dogs we cared for. Like all of them, she was very timid and frightened at first but soon her puppy curiosity began to bring out her brave side and she gained confidence, making friends with lots of staff, volunteers and other dogs.
“She learnt from positive experiences and how to interact in new environments and situations and became a cheeky, loving girl. We were so pleased when in June of this year we were able to match her with a fantastic new home.”
Following an RSPCA prosecution, two people were banned from keeping all animals for life and given suspended 20-week custodial sentences after pleading guilty to offences including failing to provide the animals with veterinary care, a suitable living environment and taking reasonable steps to protect them from pain, suffering, injury and disease. A third person from the same area was fined £50 and ordered to pay £100 in costs.
The RSPCA, which this year celebrates its 200th anniversary, puts the rise in cases of animal neglect down to an increase in pet ownership during the pandemic and the current financial hardships faced by many.
The charity recently released concerning figures which showed the number of animals abandoned in England and Wales during the winter period has increased by 51 per cent in just three years.
The RSPCA received 3,071 animal abandonment reports during the winter period (November 2020 to January 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 staggering 51 per cent increase.
RSPCA chief inspector Ian Briggs said: “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. 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 they are unable to survive for long 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. Thanks to the public supporting us we are able to rescue many animals, rehabilitate them and find them new homes - but to continue this life-saving work we need people to Join the Christmas Rescue.”
People can find out more about the Christmas campaign on the RSPCA’s website.
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