An overwhelming amount of UK residents have had to give up their animals as the cost of living continues to rise. While some owners are looking to rehome or take their animals to shelters, others are heartlessly dumping their animals on the streets.

Source: WION/Youtube

With inflation affecting the cost of food and other necessities and the housing crisis, many pet owners are not able to afford to keep their once beloved pets. This is especially common with exotic animals that require more care, such as lizards and snakes. According to the RSPCA, three snakes, including one 8-foot-long boa constrictor, were recently dumped in pillowcases outside of a reptile shop.

Although there is an influx of animals coming to charities across the country, it is unlikely they will be rehomed. Woodgreen, a charity, said that applications to adopt animals are in the hundreds every month while curing COVID-19 lockdowns, they were around 10,000 a month.

Bearded dragons are among the most common animals given up for monetary reasons. They are one of the most expensive reptiles to have as a pet because of their ultraviolet lights, thermostats, and heaters. Please, if you cannot take care of your animals, do the right thing and take them to a shelter or shop rather than dump them.

Taking these animals from the wild for our enjoyment is driving them toward extinction, which not only eliminates a species but puts others in danger by disrupting delicate ecosystems. Exotic animals belong in the wild, there’s no way an animal can be happy living in our pocket or stuck alone in a cage for endless hours.

If the demand for exotic pets did not exist, the exotic pet trade would not exist. So, if you agree that keeping exotic animals as pets is cruel, don’t Support it either. Do not buy from pet shops or dealers. Leave the wild in the wild.

Animal shelters are filled with cats and dogs who need loving families and homes. You can also Support the legislation to ban the ownership of exotic animals in your area.

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