Councils spent over £1m in two years looking after pets when owners hospitalised

Councils have spent more than £1m caring for pets after their owners were hospitalised in the past two years, according to Freedom of Information data from 2020 to 2022 attained by gambling firm Buzz Bingo.

Under the Care Act, local authorities are legally obliged to board and care for the pets of people who are taken into hospital if friends or relatives are unable to.

The data shows the councils spending the most on care for pets after their owners became ill were:

• Liverpool City Council – 73 cats, 53 dogs and 26 other pets at a cost of £222,242
• Leeds City Council – 59 cats, 43 dogs and four other pets at a cost of £135,426
• Westminster City Council – 92 cats, 16 dogs and one other pet at a cost of £99,563
• Nottinghamshire County Council – 63 cats, 74 dogs and 67 other pets at a cost of £97,788
• Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea – 37 cats and six dogs at a cost of £81,939

A total of 57 councils responded to Freedom of Information requests about the number of pets ending up in their care and at what cost. In total, 1,226 animals ended up in the care of local authorities at a cost of £1.08m.

The councils had not commented on the figures at the time of writing.