Dog walker rescues 11 guinea pigs that were abandoned near car park in New Forest

The four adults and seven babies were let loose next to two wooden arches in gorse bushes at a car park in the forest close to the Wiltshire/Hampshire border.

They were at significant risk of being preyed upon but luckily a dog walker, Julie King, discovered the animals and rescued them, taking each and every one back to her home before calling the RSPCA.

The guinea pigs have been checked over by the RSPCA and they seem to be in good health and they are now looking for new homes.

RSPCA inspector Graham Hammond, who attended the incident, said: “The person who abandoned these vulnerable animals left them under two open wooden arches with only a pile of pellets and some carrots. It was a completely reckless and callous act.

“Nearby there would have been dogs off-lead and foxes too, so they would have stood no chance of fending for themselves had they not been picked up.

“This is nothing new unfortunately and we saw similar abandonments in pre-covid times but now it seems the cost of living is having a big impact and incidents like this are all too common.

“We suspect this incident may be as a result of accidental breeding which has gotten out of hand and the owners have quickly found they have a large number of guinea pigs. There are two litters and one of the mothers may be pregnant again."

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The guinea pigs were abandoned with just a small amount of food at around 4pm on September 21, 50 yards from Bramshaw Wood car park, near Nomansland.

Julie will continue to look after the guinea pigs until they find permanent homes.

Julie, who lives near to the woods, said: “When one of my dog walking customers called me I went immediately to the location with a couple of cat baskets to collect the guinea pigs. It was distressing to see as some of the babies were only a day or two old, so anything could have happened to them.

“One of the mothers is just two to three months old and she already has two babies. I have a number of people who are interested in taking them and with the advice I have received from the RSPCA I will make sure they are adopted by owners who are going to meet their welfare needs. When they are rehomed I will also direct other potential adopters of guinea pigs towards the RSPCA and their advice.”

Graham added: “Sexing guinea pigs is so important to make sure they don’t multiply. Pet shops should be correctly sexing young guinea pigs, selling same-sex pairs or advising owners about the importance of speaking to their vets and organising timely neutering, but they often don’t do that and we get to this stage."

Pet owners can find out expert guidance on how to look after guinea pigs in a downloadable digital pack which is made available as part of Guinea Pig Awareness Week.