Britain Reduced To Eating Its Pets

Self-sufficient Brits are targeting animal sanctuaries for food. As the British attempt to save money during the recession, their pets could be heading straight for the pot according to pet behaviour specialist and star of BBC's Dog Borstal - Debbie Connolly. She is warning people to be careful to whom they sell their pets, particularly rabbits, goats and pigs.

Connolly, founder of SafePets Behaviour and volunteer at the Trallwm Farm Animal Sanctuary in South Wales, said:

"Last week a lady rang me up to ask if she could adopt the two goats I'm currently looking after. When I asked if she intended to keep them as pets she ummed and ahhed and said 'probably not'. I couldn't believe she thought I'd give them to her when it was quite clear she planned to eat them."

Connolly says she is receiving a number of similar calls every week.

"People seem very surprised when I say we only provide pets, not breeding machines or dinner.

"I understand times are hard but people need to be careful who they give or sell their pets to. More and more people are trying to buy our animals with the intention of selling them on for their meat.

"It is becoming increasingly common to treat pigs, goats and rabbit [sic] as pets and then kill them for meat later on in life.

"Recently the Trallwm Sanctuary and I had to move piglets from their foster home. We had placed them there for their own safety but then the owner decided he wanted to sell them on for meat," says Connolly.

"The animals are in the sanctuaries to be saved from this kind of fate, not fattened up for the plate."