Animals already suffering due to cost of living crisis – RSPCA

A leading charity has revealed it is developing a “vet voucher” scheme as it called for the sector to collaborate against the animal welfare impacts of current economic problems.

New research has found more than three-quarters (76.3%) of RSPCA staff and branches are now seeing more cases where cost concerns meant veterinary care was either delayed or not sought at all.

Four out of every five respondents (80%) also reported that animals were already suffering because of the cost of living crisis.

Consequences

Although details of the voucher programme were still being finalised at the time of writing, RSPCA officials said it was just one aspect of the work they are doing to mitigate the potential welfare consequences of increasingly stretched household budgets.

The charity has invested £1.5 million into other crisis support measures, including a new online cost of living hub, additional food bank and welfare support, plus funding for other charities.

But, despite that, its officers are dealing with 25% more abandonment cases and 13% more incidents of neglect.

Money worries

Nearly one in five (19 cent) of respondents to the charity’s Animal Kindness Index said they were worried about feeding their pet, and the scale of need was further highlighted through the testimonies of respondents to its survey, which was conducted in November.

In one case, the owners of a cat that had been hit by a car were reported to be going without food themselves so they could pay for surgery.

Other testimonies included an elderly man forced to give up his pond fish – having kept fish for 50 years – because of increasing energy bills, and health problems caused by owners feeding their pets with items from food bank parcels rather than eating it themselves.

RSPCA chief vet Caroline Allen said the UK was facing “a prolonged period of increasing economic hardship”, despite latest figures showing inflation fell from 10.5% in December to 10.1% in January.

The charity’s analysis also found nearly 98% of its officers, hospital and centre workers and branches said being unable to afford care was one of the main challenges.

Vet services

However, Dr Allen stressed that the challenges of providing veterinary services must be recognised, too.

She said: “It’s important that any discussion around cost of living doesn’t default to the line that ‘vets are too expensive’, when we know that providing veterinary care is costly.

“Our teams are seeing the impact of the crisis on the front line – more abandoned animals, more animals coming into our care, hundreds waiting for a place in a centre and rehoming has slowed. But there is hope.

“We appreciate the veterinary profession is under immense strain and clearly no one charity, profession or organisation will be able to tackle this alone, and even a collective response may not be sufficient to tackle all the issues. But working together with other charities, the public and veterinary professionals is imperative to maximise our impact.

“We will be looking to engage further with the profession on this difficult topic and, specifically, around our ideas in relation to vouchers.”

Gold standard

Dr Allen also echoed the concerns raised by other senior vets about the application of so-called “gold-standard” treatment practices to cases with constrained budgets.

The RSPCA is working with Vet Times and other charities to produce support materials on contextualised care, and Dr Allen encouraged vets to access the resources available via RCVS Knowledge.

She added that the charity is trying to encourage veterinary journals to publish more work on cases dealt with from different financial standpoints, and pleaded for pet owners to be open with their vet about their financial circumstances.

How to help

Dr Allen said: “The focus has to be on where vets can help clients understand what help is available and how they are guided to the best welfare option for their pet, which is within their financial and other means.

“We encourage pet owners to discuss any financial limits or concerns they have about vet fees at the earliest opportunity, and to understand that there may be options available within their budget.

“It is really important that all parties gain an early understanding of the financial situation to assist in planning and communicating the approach to the case. There is no such thing as a ‘gold-standard’ approach required in particular clinical scenarios.

“Using up all the clients’ funds on panels of diagnostics, then realising that there are no funds left for treatment, is incredibly frustrating for all.”