Guinea Pigs Need Homes!

A Hampshire animal centre is full to the brim because its facilities are being hogged by an influx of guinea pigs - 50 of which came from one home.

The RSPCA's Ashley Heath Centre, near Ringwood is full to bursting asmany of the 50 guinea pigs are heavily pregnant or have given birth, andthere is no more room for other animals as a result.

A member of the public signed the guinea pigs over to an RSPCA inspector after they had allowed them to run wild in the garden which resulted in unwanted breeding.

RSPCA Ashley Heath manager Sheila Vernon said: 

"The centre is nowfull of guinea pigs and with many of them heavily pregnant we are expecting even more in the next couple of weeks.
We currently have 13 guinea pigs, of various ages and colours which are ready to go to new homes and there will be more once the babies are old enough to be weaned."

Guinea pigs, which can live for up to seven years, are friendly andeasily tamed but they require commitment and regular attention. They are social animals, so they will be looking for homes in either pairs orsmall groups of the same sex.

RSPCA inspector Graham Hammond, who brought the animals to the centre,said: 

"By failing to be a responsible pet owner and preventing their animals from breeding, people are simply passing on the problem to someone else.RSPCA animal centres are full of animals, which should never have been bred and we are struggling to find homes for them so I would urge people to gets their pets neutered and not allow things like this to happen. And if people want to take on any kind of pet I would urge them to help them to come to the RSPCA and give a rescue animal a second chance."

Anyone interested in offering a pair or group of guinea pigs a homeshould contact the RSPCA Ashley Heath animal centre on 0300 123 0749.