Hundreds of guinea pigs dumped and neglected following lockdown boom

The RSPCA says it has had to rescue hundreds of abandoned guinea pigs already this year. The charity fears it is seeing the start of repercussions from a surge in pet ownership during lockdown, when many people were at home.

“A lot of them have come from abandoned cages out in public,” the RSPCA’s Carmen Cole told PA news agency. “Some of them are from hoarders, bad breeding or where things have got out of control and just general neglect as well at home.”

One of Britain’s most popular family pets, guinea pigs are often kept in inappropriate conditions, the RSPCA says.