Animal charities and organisations team-up to help people struggling to feed their pets

Animal charities and major organisations have joined forces to help owners in need to feed their hungry pets in the face of the cost of living crisis.

Dogs Trust, RSPCA, Battersea, and Cats Protection are working together with industry body UK Pet Food to secure food from pet food manufacturers, which is then distributed all over the UK through FareShare, the UK’s largest charity fighting hunger and food waste.

This initiative has been made possible thanks to Petplan, the UK’s no.1 pet insurer, covering the cost of distributing food to pets in need.

The organisation has donated £100,000 towards the cost of distributing food to pets in need. Other corporate partners include:

• Pets at Home has donated 38,267 Wainwright’s dog meals
• Lily’s Kitchen has donated 332 dog meals and has committed to making sizeable monthly donations from May
• Mars Petcare has provided 42 pallets of dog and cat food to create thousands of meals
• Purina Petcare has committed to donating two pallets of dog and cat food every month, on top of an initial donation of two pallets

The alliance will help redistribute pet food to FareShare’s network of 9,500 charities which, as well as providing food banks, also provide wraparound services that help tackle the root causes of poverty, including homelessness shelters, women’s refuge centres, older people’s lunch clubs and after school clubs.

This pet food will help owners most impacted by the cost of living crisis.

To date, the programme has received 43,621 kilograms of pet food, the equivalent of over 304,000 meals for hungry pets across the UK, who might not otherwise have been fed a proper meal that day.

Lindsay Boswell, CEO of FareShare: “The cost of living crisis is having a disproportionate impact on people already struggling to make ends meet.

“We’re incredibly proud to be working with these animal welfare charities and their pet food partners so that people won’t have to choose between feeding themselves or their pets during what is a challenging time for many.”

Owen Sharp, CEO of Dogs Trust, said the charity has received a record breaking amount of calls from people who need to give up their pets.

“It’s a privilege to be able to join forces with our fellow charities and work hand-in-glove with the corporate sector to make sure our cherished family pets don’t have to go hungry,” added Owen.

John May, CEO of Cats Protection, said: “The cost of living crisis represents a huge issue for cat welfare, with many owners facing impossible choices as costs continue to rise.

“No one should be forced to give up a beloved pet and no cat should be left hungry. We are proud to be working with our colleagues across the sector to get donated food into the bowls of cats in need.”

Peter Laurie, CEO of Battersea: “As leading animal welfare charities, we want to do everything within our power to support the thousands of pets being affected by the cost of living crisis.

“No one should have to worry about where their pet’s next meal is coming from, and we want to reassure any struggling owners that help is available. Battersea is proud to be working alongside our rescue colleagues, pet food partners and Fareshare to ensure pets across the country can continue to be well-fed and much-loved.”

“Sadly, we know the cost of living crisis is a real worry for pet owners,” explained Chris Sherwood, CEO of the RSPCA.

“We are so grateful to the suppliers currently on board with us and the FareShare network but to help reach even more struggling pet owners we really need more manufacturers to come on board and help more animals and owners through these extremely tough times.”

Nicole Paley, Deputy CEO of UK Pet Food, added: “Our members are responsible for feeding 90% of the nation’s pets, so we have been delighted that many have signed up to the scheme and donated pet food for those in need.”