THE RSPCA received more than 600 calls about exotic animals last year in the West Midlands, new figures show.
People contacted the charity about exotic animals 607 times in 2018 while nationally in England and Wales, the charity received a total of 15,790 calls about abandoned, stray, sick, suffering and neglected exotic reptiles, mammals, birds and fish – more than one every hour.
The RSPCA believes the reason behind some of the suffering of these exotics pets is that owners do not do their research and don’t understand the type and amount of care that they need, resulting in them being neglected, dumped or escaping.
Across England and Wales in 2018, the number of calls the RSPCA received to its 24-hour cruelty hotline about all animals increased by 13 per cent from 2017 to 1,175,193 calls.
For information about the exotic animals looking for a home at the RSPCA, visit www.rspca.org.uk/findapet.