Unwanted hamster dumped on Lancaster doorstep

This little hamster is recovering after being dumped on the doorstep of a house in Lancaster.
Twiglet the hamster.Twiglet the hamster.
Twiglet the hamster.

Twiglet was left in a dirty cage outside a house in Dallas Road on Friday May 26.

He was collected by RSPCA inspector Carl Larsson and taken to the small animal unit at the RSPCA’s Blackpool centre.

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He said: “Twiglet was in a decent condition but he had been left in the street in his cage with some bedding.

“His owner obviously didn’t want him anymore but there are much kinder ways to get an animal rehomed.”

The incident comes as figures show that more than 1,000 small pets were abandoned and taken in by the RSPCA nationally last year.

In 2016, RSPCA centres up and down the country received a total of 1,029 abandoned small furries, including rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, chinchillas, degus, rats, ferrets, gerbils, and mice.

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This is up from the previous year when there were 984 abandoned small pets reported to the RSPCA.

So far in 2017 that number is at 410.

Rabbits have the biggest cases of abandonments with 477 in 2016 and 153 have been dumped so far this year.

Sadly some of these small animals which are usually bought as a child’s first pet can often be abandoned when the owners become bored or no longer want them.

In 2016, the RSPCA also took in 77 hamsters after they were dumped and so far this year there have been 54 hamsters turfed out.

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Animal centre manager Ms Kirrane said many of the furries at the small animal unit have been abandoned just like Twiglet and the family of rabbits.

She said: “We would urge people not to abandon any animal, great or small, in this way.

“The RSPCA understands that circumstances can change which can mean people may no longer be in a position to look after their pet but if something like this happens, we would urge pet owners to act responsibly.”

Some of these smaller pets come into the centre from their owners due to ill health or when a child becomes bored and no longer wants them.

Twiglet is now looking for a new home.

If you would like to give him a loving home contact Longview Animal Centre on 01253 703000.