The RSPCA in Huddersfield has been swamped with unwanted pets and has urged animal lovers to chip in by granting them Christmas wishes.

The money will go towards feeding and caring for the animals over the festive period.

Fay Gibbons, from the RSPCA Halifax, Huddersfield, Bradford & District Branch, said: “We are currently experiencing one of our busiest Decembers on record.

“As the cost-of-living crisis continues our local rehoming centre is doing all it can to care for the ever-increasing number of animals arriving through our doors, all in desperate need of care, rehabilitation and loving homes. 

“Our Christmas appeal is vital in helping us make the festive season as happy as possible for the animals who sadly don’t have a loving home of their own. It also helps us provide life-saving veterinary treatment, vaccinations, food, medication and much more to our furry residents.

“This year our appeal is more important than ever before. We have never seen such a busy winter season. It’s a daunting prospect for our hard-working animal care team who are doing all they can to ensure we help as many animals as possible. You can grant a wish from as little as £1 on our website and every penny raised will directly support our centre.”  

Donors get to choose an animal to grant a wish for and each animal has a wish counter so the hope is that every animal will have a wish granted for them by Christmas Day.

To donate to the appeal online go to www.rspcahalifaxhuddersfieldbradford.org.uk/christmas-wish-appeal-2023 or www.justgiving.com/campaign/cwa2023.

Alternatively, people can buy wish tickets at any of the eight RSPCA charity shops across Halifax, Huddersfield, Bradford and in their Wade Street Animal Centre.  

So far this year, the local RSPCA branch has found homes for 81 dogs, 194 cats and 44 small animals.

The RSPCA Halifax, Huddersfield, Bradford and District Branch are a self-funding branch of the National RSPCA, responsible for raising money locally to support its animal welfare work.

The charity’s main aim is to rehabilitate unwanted, abandoned and abused animals and find them loving, permanent homes and to do this it relies entirely on public donations.

Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content and copywriting.