A petition has been set up, demanding that more action is taken to ensure that pets and in particular dogs, are not kept outdoors in severe weather conditions. The petition was set up after images of two dogs outside in a garden in the heavy snow went viral.
The incident occurred in Hereford and after the RSPCA and other local charities said there was nothing they could do, some members of the public decided to take matters into their own hands and turned up at the owner of the dogs property.
West Mercia Police were called to the house in Hereford but decided that the matter was one for the RSPCA. West Mercia Police issued a short statement saying:
Sergeant Nicolas Green said “Yesterday evening we attended a property in Hereford after a number of people had raised concerns for the welfare of two dogs. We spoke to both the owners and the individuals concerned for the pets’ welfare and have made the RSPCA aware.”
Hereford and Worcester Animal Rescue then issued a statement after being inundated with calls from members of the public. The statement said:
As many of you may have seen there were lots of posts on Facebook last night concerning the safety of two small dogs in Herefordshire.
We have been absolutely inundated with messages and calls about their welfare from concerned members of the public. We unfortunately have absolutely no powers to remove these dogs from the property.
We know that the RSPCA are aware of the situation so we remain very hopeful that after all of the social media attention something can be done ASAP.
We are ready and willing to welcome the two dogs into our care ASAP if the owners are willing to relinquish them to us.
We would highly recommend that people avoid confronting the owners or visiting their property. We are sure that the RSPCA will be responding to last nights situation with a matter of urgency.
We will keep ourselves updated with the ongoing situation.
We completely understand the anger and upset the social media posts have caused to many of you but please refrain from posting violent and aggressive comments on this post. Please do not comment any details about the owners or property.
You can sign the petition that demands for more laws to protect animals by visiting – https://www.change.org/p/uk-parliament-new-laws-and-regulations-on-animal-cruelty?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=custom_url&recruited_by_id=5eedda20-b6cb-11e4-820f-091e74d4cf85
