Good Morning Britain viewers heartbroken after 'cruel' announcement

Good Morning Britain was back on our screens on Thursday (4 September), with Kate Garraway and Ed Balls steering the ITV show. The pair kept viewers up-to-date with all the latest headlines, including political news, while Richard Arnold provided GMB fans with the latest entertainment updates.

One segment highlighted the work of the RSPCA, with GMB's Nick Dixon reporting live from one of the charity's branches in Aylesbury. Regrettably, he revealed that the number of dogs currently under the care of the RSPCA is at an all-time high, following numerous large-scale cruelty and neglect cases. The figure has now more than doubled since the pandemic. "It's primarily the cost of living crisis that's having a significant impact on the numbers of dogs ending up in these types of rescue centres," Nick started to explain, reports the Mirror.

He went on: "But, in the case of the RSPCA, they've received a vast number of calls over the summer from the public reporting incidents of cruelty and neglect as well.

"They've been taking in so many dogs that they're actually spending hundreds of thousands of pounds just securing extra kennel space, and private boarding space for dogs. They're pretty much full here, but there are more dogs arriving today."

Nick then spoke to an RSPCA worker at the Aylesbury branch about the increasing number of dogs they are receiving, as the camera swept across the kennels to highlight the gravity of the situation.

The news segment left GMB viewers at home distressed, with many demanding more action to assist the animals and halt the ongoing cruelty.

"This is heartbreaking news," one telly viewer posted on X, while another commented: "There should be extremely severe punishments for people who are cruel to defenceless animals. Only a monster could commit such cruelty."

A third viewer asserted: "People that breed dogs need to be more discerning about who they sell or give dogs to. Also, owners who mistreat their animals should be imprisoned, not the animal."

Meanwhile, a fourth viewer noted: "This is very sad. I know so-called animal lovers who travel abroad to aid other countries and their abandoned animals, bring them back legally, but don't even consider what's happening to our own animals."

Another viewer labelled the news as "heartbreaking", insisting that dogs deserve a "loving home" rather than a "life of misery".