ISPCA in 'crisis' with 80% rise in pets requiring rescue amid 'surge in cruelty cases'

Head of animal welfare at the ISPCA Denise McCausland with corgi puppy Rhino, who was recently rescued from a puppy farm. Picture: Gareth Chaney/ Collins

There has been an 80% rise in animals being taken in by the ISPCA amid what it describes as "crisis" levels of cruelty and abandonment.

The Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has reported unprecedented levels of animal abuse cases resulting in almost 700 animals being rescued in the first quarter of this year alone.

It has now launched an urgent national appeal as a post-pandemic surge in cases of abandonment or cruelty has left it facing a significant financial burden and demand for space. 

To accommodate the growing number of animals being rescued, the majority of which are dogs, the ISPCA’s facilities in Donegal, Longford, Mallow and Wicklow have reached full capacity. It is having to install temporary facilities and use private kennels, leading to a cost of over €500,000, which it says it cannot afford.

ISPCA chief executive Dr Cyril Sullivan said the charity was in crisis, seeing an unprecedented number of animals being rescued from “cruel situations”.

“Several factors have contributed to the surge in cruelty cases encountered by the ISPCA inspectorate since late 2022, continuing into 2023. Key among these factors is the significant slowdown in the response to rehoming healthy dogs,” he said.

Mr Sullivan said while people have benefited from covid restrictions lifting and getting back to work, animals and pet animals have not.

We had a very significant growth in the demand for dogs during the pandemic, prices tripled if not quadrupled and then overnight, whenever we got back to work, that market just disappeared.

“So what we have are legal and probably illegal breeders, producing lots of dogs and being left with no market for those on top of people going back to work,” he said.

Comedian PJ Gallagher with a rescued spaniel at the launch of the ISPCA's emergency appeal in response to a sharp increase in the number of animal cruelty cases across Ireland. Picture: Gareth Chaney/ Collins

Despite rescuing and bringing the animals back to full health, the demand for adoption or pet ownership is no longer there.

“The other shelters have shut up shop because they can't afford to bring more dogs in, there's just too many. We are determined not to do that,” he said.

“But the financial burden of providing secure housing and care for these animals has become overwhelming,” he said.

Veterinary surgeon and trustee of the ISPCA Dr Pete Wedderburn said although the pandemic is over, its impact will stay with pets for some time into the future.

“The most significant impact is the large number of cruelty cases being encountered by the ISPCA at this time,” he said.

The charity receives up to 15,000 calls annually and about 3,000 resulting in inspections, with one call just two weeks ago resulting in an inspector finding 116 dogs in a shed.

The dogs were in “desperate conditions”, he said, in small crates with no food, light or exercise.

One dog recently rescued from a puppy farm is a three-week-old Corgi called Rhino.

He was rescued along with his mother from “terrible conditions”, and has required constant care since his mother could no longer feed him due to an infection.

The charity said Rhino would not have survived if he was not taken from the breeder, who had over 100 dogs.