Abandoned and sick animals in Sunderland set for bumper Christmas thanks to generous donation

Sunderland Spiritualist Church has donated over £1,400 worth of food, bedding and toys to two animal rescue charities.

Transcript

00:00Okay, Lorraine, what do you make of all these donations in Propose for Thought?

00:18We're totally overwhelmed. We're always amazed by how generous people are, especially at

00:24Christmas time. It's hard times for everyone at the moment, but actually all of this food

00:30is going to see us through the Christmas period. It means that we don't have to worry about

00:35being able to feed all of the animals, whether it be the cats, the hedgehogs or other species

00:40of wildlife. This food will be able to feed them all for Christmas.

00:45Now you see an increasing problem with more and more animals being sort of dumped on the

00:48street and you're having to pick them up and take care of them?

00:51We seem to be in a crisis in this country. It's not just ourselves, it's all of the other rescues

00:56when we speak to them. There's about a 30% increase in the amount of abandonment of animals

01:02currently, from not neutering because they haven't got the funds to do so, and also the fact

01:08they can't afford to feed them. So they're now surrendering the animals because they're faced

01:13with really tough decisions as a household. This is work and families, not low income. It's the

01:20work and families that are really struggling financially now.