'The worst case of neglect I’ve seen' – Shocking discovery of guinea pigs dumped in a box near Telford zoo

The find, which was discovered on Thursday, has been described by an animal charity that is now looking after the guinea pigs as 'sickening'.

On Thursday, a passerby fund the box of guinea pigs at a pond on the grounds near the Exotic Zoo in Telford.

The animals were in such a state, Telford rescue sanctuary, Honey Bun Haven, where the guinea pigs were sent, described the find as "the worst case of neglect that I think I’ve seen".

Posting about the discovery, Honey Bun Haven said: “Whilst on the way to the vets, we had a call from the Exotic Zoo in Telford town centre. Two guinea pigs were found in a box abandoned by the pond. Just dumped. They were found and then handed into the exotic zoo.

“I'm so grateful that the person that found them were decent and took them to the zoo, rather than it be some idiot with no good intentions.

“We had the pleasure of meeting Scott when he dropped the piggies off to us. We are just so sickened. Please if you are that desperate and think dumping them is the answer then contact a vets or a rescue.”

The rescue centre continued: “These Guinea pigs are the worst case of neglect that I think I’ve seen. Genuinely.

“They were covered in so much pure dirt, poo, mud, they were so disgusting and smelt so bad.

“They were filthy, so beyond dirty, matted, skinny, mites and possible ringworm. Both boys were highly compacted too.. so so neglected. I have no words.

“One of the boys has around five lumps on his abdomen. This is incredibly concerning and they will both be admitted into the vets asap. The other boy is incredibly skinny. Has severe bumble foot and very sore, itchy skin.

"They have been shaved of their mats, Bathed and settled into an enclosure with everything they need. After everything I cannot believe how sweet they are."

Within hours more than £300 of donations flooded in to the animal sanctuary, and in an update on Friday, Honey Bun Haven said: “Wow. We are so touched by all your efforts. Thank you so so much to everyone, for all your kindness, support and donations!

“The boys are doing amazing, they were eating hay all night long and we heard many happy noises between them! I’m really pleased they have each other.

“They’re both booked in to see our vet, Naomi on Tuesday at her soonest appointment. So we will do an update then. Hopefully not much bad news.. I do anticipate there will be some not so great news on now named Floyd's lumps. we can only hope not.”

If you wish to support Honey Bun Haven or to hear of updates on the welfare of the guinea pigs, visit: facebook.com/honeybunhaven