Reptile rescue group in Derry experiencing an increase in unwanted pets

A Derry man who set up a group to rescue and rehome a growing number of unwanted pet reptiles has spoken about the increase in demand in recent months.

Dennis Dunn established ReptiRescueNI in 2020 after noticing through his work at the Pets at Home branch in the city there was an increase in the number of people wanting to give up their pets.

Dennis said: "We are a self funded rescue that has been able to work through Covid and the crisis we are in at the moment. 

"However amidst these trying times, more and more people are giving up their pets and we have seen a huge increase in demand; we want to help everyone but we can only do so much."

Dennis used to work alongside four other volunteers but now works alone to provide a temporary home for the animals before finding them a new home.

The rescue group has helped find new homes for all sorts of animals, including snakes, lizards and snails.

Dennis, who is originally from England but who now lives in the Waterside area of Derry with his wife and two young children, said he always had a passion for animals.

“I just love reptiles,” he said. “I used to keep them when I was younger and it is great to be helping to care for these beautiful creatures again.”

Dennis said there are a large number of people in Ireland who have reptiles as pets.

“I suppose they are not the kind of pets you see people out walking in the street with but there is a massive reptile-keeping community in Ireland and they have been very supportive of our work.”

Dennis said the group has been very busy since opening. He has also noticed more and more people giving up their reptiles or unable to care for them.

“Through my work at Pets at Home I noticed a lot of people coming in to ask advice on what they could do with their reptile.

“Often, it was the same story of someone having bought a snake or a reptile as a pet for their child and the child had then lost interest in it.

“There was nowhere really that these people could go to in order to try and get the animal rehomed. That's when I decided to set up something myself.”

As a result, ReptiRescueNI take animals off people and use their contacts within the reptile-keeping community to get them rehomed.

“As we are completely self-funded, we ask people who are rehoming the animals to make a donation to help us continue with this work. Any help now to source a unit for our rescue group would be much appreciated."

Anyone who would like to contact or support ReptiRescueNI can get in touch with the group through its Facebook page.

You can also follow their journey via their TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ reptirescuen.i?_t=8Y9Kg3bAcoo& _r=1