Pets win more prizes than homeless

People are more likely to help animals than homeless people,
according to a survey by Community Service Volunteers.

Of the 1,000 people interviewed in the poll 53 per cent said they
would choose to help animals, compared with 50 per cent who would
give time and money to homeless people.

The causes considered most deserving were disadvantaged children,
chosen by 77 per cent of respondents, followed by terminally ill
people (67 per cent ).

Refugees and ex-offenders were the least popular causes, with 29
per cent and 23 per cent voting them the most important causes
respectively.

A spokesperson for Revolving Doors, a charity that works with
ex-offenders, said: “The findings of the survey are disappointing
but not surprising. Unfortunately, they are indicative of a wider
problem that people are more prepared to help a small, fluffy dog
without a kennel, than a convicted criminal with a mental health
problem who doesn’t have a home and is forced to live in a
squat.”

He added that people’s perceptions needed to be changed so that
“the public come to realise that the best causes aren’t always the
one featured on Pet Rescue that can be solved with a
£5 donation – there are wider social problems that we all need
to find solutions to”.