Christmas not the best time to give pets to your children

Animals are often the first victims of a recession. Kerrie Kennedy reports on the alarming increase in the numbers abandoned and the charities struggling to care for them.

ANIMAL welfare groups are reporting a massive surge in the number of unwanted pets as people struggle to cope with the cost of keeping animals.

Charities nationwide are struggling to cope with a spate of dumped animals — many of which are left to die in remote locations — as owners face into a new year of reduced income or emigration.