A bag of pants and a collection of dog hair a member of the public had brushed off their dog are just some of the strange items that have been donated to our centres over the past few years.
We are revealing some of our weirdest and wackiest donations as we urge members of the public to check which items they can accept before they donate.
Scottish SPCA operations lead, Rachael Maclean, said, “Of course we are always incredibly thankful for donations people can spare and we wouldn’t want anyone to think we are ungrateful.
“While we do get lots of funny donations that have clearly been given to us with the best of intentions we have also received some items that pose a serious health hazard.
“Our centres have received open bags of food containing maggots, which is why we can’t accept any food that is already open.
“We’ve also received items covered in pet hair, urine and faeces.
“People often donate duvets and pillows not realising that we can’t use them as bedding as they’re too easy for animals to rip up and possibly harm themselves by ingesting or becoming tangled in them.
“We also receive a lot of cages for small animals and rabbits that unfortunately don’t meet our minimum requirements and aren’t big enough for us to use.
“Sadly all these unsuitable items have to be disposed of using skips and these cost us a lot to hire and empty. We know the people who are kind enough to donate to us are trying to help and would probably be horrified if they knew they were actually costing us money.
“We don’t want to put anyone off donating to our centres but we would just ask that they check which items we can and can’t accept.
“If the item is large or something unusual we’d ask them just to give their nearest centre a call first to make sure they can accept it.
“We are so grateful, especially in these difficult times, that people think of us and want to help.”
Anyone wishing to check if items can be donated to one of the Scottish SPCA’s animal rescue and rehoming centres can call 03000 999 999 to speak to their local centre.
