A south London farm has warned people not to leave their pets outside the premises after at least one animal left outside was thought killed by foxes.
Surrey Docks Farm in Rotherhithe issued the warning after “animals were dumped at the Farm in a travel bag" on Monday night.
But according to the farm, CCTV shows that foxes came by the bag just a few minutes later, and that within ten minutes they had gotten inside the bag. It is thought they killed the animals who had been left inside.
The farm said it did not judge those who had left their pets at the farm, but urged others not to do the same.
“We are not a rehoming centre but even if we were, please, please, don’t dump animals in unsuitable containers unattended in the night,” it said in a message to visitors.
“Taking on an animal is a big responsibility and we strongly advise against children having pets.
“Every week we get contacted by parents saying something along the lines of ‘our child is no longer interested, would we like a rabbit?’.
“We do understand that sometimes your situation changes and you suddenly need to rehome which can be very upsetting, in this case please contact a rescue centre first.”
Staff at the farm said the bag was discovered the following morning “with a note saying ‘please help us’, but no animals, just sawdust, food and a carrot inside".
It comes after a spate of pets being abandoned in the capital, including a hamster, which was left on a bus and a guinea pig which was left at Canning Town Tube station.
Some animal rehoming charities in London also reported being "overwhelmed" by the numbers of pets being taken to their centres.
