Not just for Christmas - Left out in the cold

In the midst of all the other difficulties, it seems incongruous to suggest that horses and donkeys are particularly hard hit by the current recession.

The number of abandoned animals has surged to the highest level ever.

Animal sanctuaries are currently overloaded with abandoned animals, and it seems likely to get worse. Many people have been taking their animals to shelters, because they are forced to emigrate in search of work. They, and the animals, are victims of the recession.

Horses — the once prized possession seen as a sign of affluence — have been ravaged by the economic recession. Hundreds, even thousands of horses, are starving because they have been abandoned on roadsides and left to fend for themselves. Their owners can no longer afford to feed them or pay necessary veterinary expenses to treat even easily treatable maladies.

Public funding for the sanctuaries is tightening while the need for them was never greater. Animal Welfare Groups are urging people not to give people pets for Christmas.

It may be a novelty to give a child a gift of a pet, but there must be somebody responsible to ensure the pet is fed and looked after.