Animal lovers face charges for pet rescues

Pet owners, farmers and wildlife lovers in Britain face being charged for the rescue of their beloved animals, as fire and rescue services have their budgets slashed.

The taxpayer is footing a £3.5 million ($7 million) annual bill for emergency calls to get cats down from trees, horses out of swimming pools and hamsters from under washing machines.

On average, crews trained to tackle major fires and perform life-saving rescues receive two calls a day to help a cat. Other animals in distress range from chinchillas, hamsters and squirrels to an iguana, a school of dolphins and a whale.

Fire chiefs insist such rescues can provide useful training for when a human finds themselves in difficulty. In addition, deterring people from making emergency calls could lead to their getting into danger if they attempt a rescue themselves.

Nevertheless the bizarre catalogue of emergency call-outs makes interesting reading, disclosed as fire chiefs come to terms with the effects of major funding cuts unveiled by Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary.

During the past three years, fire and rescue services were called to more than 11,800 animal rescues, at an average cost of £600 each. The 39 fire and rescue authorities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who responded to an Independent survey catalogued details of 2390 rescued cats, 1568 dogs, 1591 birds and 1112 horses.

Spending cuts ordered by the Government will see the authority lose £1 million next year, but officials have warned against deterring people from calling the emergency services.

Bob Ratcliffe, an assistance chief officer at Hampshire, said: "Animals in distress pose a potentially serious risk to the public, members of other agencies and to firefighters. For fire and rescue services, public safety is paramount.

"We would rather those members of the public called for assistance than tackled a serious animal rescue themselves as it could result in individuals placing themselves, and others, in danger."

However, other authorities facing severe financial constraints and potential job losses are poised to introduce widespread charges.

Essex Fire and Rescue Service has rescued 575 animals in the past three years, which, at a national average cost of £600 a rescue, could have cost local taxpayers £345,000. The authority is to lose £1 million in funding for 2011-12, and is "currently reviewing its policy with regards to charging for animal rescues and in the future may charge".

The move is at odds with advice from the Chief Fire Officers Association, which has warned that "making a charge for rescuing animals ... may result in individuals attempting to carry out the rescue, thereby putting themselves in danger".

"If this should happen, the financial cost of rescuing the animal and would-be rescuer may well be greater and may well have more serious implications. It is therefore important that firefighters are adequately trained to ensure their own safety and that of others."

The scale of the problem in some areas is now so great that some brigades have personnel specifically trained in dealing with incidents involving animals.

Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service last year spent £5000 on a life-size horse mannequin to practise rescues. The money came from funds donated by local branches of the RSPCA.

- INDEPENDENT