Animal Welfare Week (3–9 October) and World Animal Day (4 October) are marked annually by those whose mission is to raise animal welfare standards across the globe. In previous years, it’s been a time of celebration for Mayhew – a chance to reflect on all we’ve done to make life better for our animals and the people who love them. But this year looks a little different.

A nation in crisis

Animal welfare is inextricably tied to human welfare, and right now humans around the world are struggling. Here in the UK, the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have been compounded by rising costs, high inflation and low wage growth – and this week’s energy price cap rise will only make things harder for all of us.  

Inevitably, animals will suffer. Mayhew is already seeing more animals abandoned, more surrendered and fewer people in a position to adopt. We know that many are facing an impossible choice between providing for themselves and caring for their beloved pets, and in the five London boroughs we work in we’re doing our best to offer practical help. Keeping people and pets together is the best possible outcome – for owners, whose mental and physical health often depends on their pet; for rescues like ours, which are stretched to their limits; and, crucially, for animals, for whom being given up or abandoned is dangerous and traumatic. 

We need you

This Animal Welfare Week, we’re asking for your support. We’re doing vital work to help cats, dogs and vulnerable pet owners weather the cost-of-living crisis, but we receive no government funding and are reliant solely on grants and donations. We’re also facing the same struggle with soaring utilities and other costs. 

Our cost-of-living campaign shares just some of the many stories of those we’ve helped so far, like Belle, abandoned outside a low-cost supermarket, or Colin, who found he simply couldn’t afford to feed both his cats and himself. It also highlights the measures we’ve put in place to safeguard the welfare of animals and people in our community now and in future. 

If you are in a position to make a donation, any amount you give will help that work continue and keep pets and their owners together, whatever challenges they face. Thank you.