Crate of 16 guinea pigs dumped in field in Bransgore

A CRATE full of guinea pigs was dumped in a field in Bransgore, leaving one of them just hours from death.

The 16 little creatures, including adults and babies, were left inside a cat carrier in freezing, wet conditions.

They were discovered in the nick of time and taken to Mandy’s Rescue a Guinea Pig, in Verwood – where the animals are now thriving.

Kirsty Keiper, a volunteer at the centre, said: “The smallest one would not have survived much longer. He was hours from death.

"I had to stay up with him all night feeding him every three hours.”

She said the crate had been taken to a local vet in Bransgore where staff alerted the shelter, which has been running since 2018.

Two of the fully grown guinea pigs were adopted by one of the vets at the practice.

One of the females had just had babies with some of them not yet weaned. In total there were four females and 12 males.

Kirsty said: “After collecting them I had three hours of rushing round to our foster parents who were all ready to give them the food, water and warmth they need.

"We have an amazing loyal army of fosterers who are fantastic.

“This is the single biggest group of guinea pigs we have had handed into the centre, and they all rallied round to help.”

After posting about the find on social media, the centre was inundated by people wanting to help by buying food and other necessities for the little animals. Some donated to the centre or bought items from its wishlist on Amazon.

Kirsty said: “The response was amazing. People were really upset that the guinea pigs had just been dumped. We are lucky they were found as soon as they were otherwise some could have died.

"Some were very weak and not taking solid food, so they had to be fed by bottle and teats.

“They were also suffering from shock and cold. Some had ringworm, lice and were underweight. But they are doing really now."

She said it had been a busy time for the centre over Christmas and the new year, adding: “We have had a lot of unwanted pets handed in, bought as Christmas presents or during lockdown. Over the festive period we had 40.

"Some of them were for genuine reasons, such as having to move home and not being allowed pets.”

The Bransgore guinea pigs are now up for adoption in pairs for a donation of £25 per animal or £50 for a neutered boar, to help with running costs for the not-for-profit organisation.

For more information email guinea.pig.rescue@hotmail.com