'Unprecedented number' of dogs being abandoned and taken into shelters

27% of those who responded to the ISPCA survey cited potential behavioural issues as the main reason why they would not adopt a dog from a shelter. File Picture: ISPCA

An "unprecedented number" of pets, particularly dogs, are being abandoned and taken into shelters, the country's leading animal protection charity has said.

The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) says it rescued some 724 dogs between January and the end of August this year — 44 more than the total rescued during all of 2022. The ISPCA says the increase highlights "a worrying trend towards pet abandonment".