Appeal after guinea pigs found dead

The animals’ skulls had been crushed, and one had been skinned

Animal charities are appealing for information after three guinea pigs were found dead in 'horrifying' circumstances in Sunderland.

The RSPCA said their bodies were discovered on top of a pizza box on a field next to houses on Dinsdale Street on Sunday evening, July 30, and collected by a volunteer from fellow charity Pawz for Thought the following day.

The RSPCA said a veterinary examination revealed the malnourished animals had had their skulls crushed, and the presence of blood in the mouths and noses of two of them indicates they could still have been alive at the time. All three had also been flattened.

One of the guinea pigs had no fur. It’s not clear if this pet was a hairless skinny pig or if the animal had been deliberately skinned.

The RSPCA has joined Pawz for Thought in appealing for anyone with information about the distressing incident to come forward urgently.

RSPCA inspector Lucy Green, who collected the guinea pigs to be examined, said she had contacted Sunderland City Council to request any CCTV footage available from the area, and made house-to-house.

She said: “It’s clear from their very distressing state that someone has deliberately harmed these little guinea pigs and they’ve suffered terrible injuries as a result.

“Their bodies had been squashed, which made the veterinary examination more difficult, but it does appear that all three were malnourished.

"We’d like to thank Pawz for Thought for their help, and to everyone who has heard about this incident and understandably expressed their shock and concern.

“It’s an extremely distressing case and someone out there must know who these pets belonged to. We’d urge people with first-hand information to contact our inspectorate appeal line on 0300 123 8018.”

She said one of the guinea pigs was light brown in colour with a black and white head, although it wasn’t possible to establish the sex. The other was light and dark brown with some white markings on the head and believed to be female. The hairless guinea pig is thought to have been male.

The pizza box had been removed prior to the animals being collected, but the base was found by the inspector in a nearby hedge.

Figures released recently by the RSPCA revealed that the number of animals killed in ‘suspicious circumstances’ increased last year by 15%, from 891 in 2022 compared to 775 in 2021.

The charity sees a peak in intentional cruelty during the summer months in particular, with 1,081 beatings being reported in August 2022 - a staggering 35 a day.

It has launched its Cancel Out Cruelty campaign, in a bid to raise funds to help its frontline rescue teams continue to investigate cases of abuse to animals.

Incidents of animals being abandoned are also increasing dramatically. The latest figures show that 2,047 cases were reported to the RSPCA in June - the most of any month of the year so far. This compares to 1,527 in June last year - a rise of 34%.