Cat stuck up a tree? Don't ring us! Firefighters see decline in animal rescues

 
Emergency services in action rescuing a horse
Jamie Lewis15 August 2013

The London Fire Brigade says call-outs to rescue trapped animals have halved year-on-year.

In 2012, London's fire crews were called on to rescue just 282 animals, the lowest since records of this type began in 1999.

The numbers are considerably lower than the 650 rescues that took place in 2011.

Last year, the Fire Brigade, alongside the RSPCA, launched a new campaign called 'I'm an Animal Get Me Out of Here' which they say helped the decline of non-emergency call-outs.

It costs London Fire Brigade (LFB) £290 a time to rescue an animal, and their campaign encouraged people to contact the RSPCA instead.

They say it has saved the Fire Brigade £100,000. LFB is currently facing cuts of £28.8 million over the next two years.

London Fire Brigade Group Manager Mark Hazelton said: "It’s excellent news that the number of animal rescues has fallen and that people have clearly taken heed of our advice. Who knows, perhaps firefighters rescuing cats from trees may soon be a thing of the past.

“I’d still like to remind people that if they see an animal stuck somewhere, the first port of call should always be the RSPCA, not the emergency services. When firefighters are out rescuing animals, they’re not available to attend real emergencies."

Within the campaign, they documented some of the stranger rescues they had taken part in over the years, including rescuing an iguana from a roof in Tower Hamlets and helping a dog that was stuck in a wheelchair.

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