Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Three guinea pigs discovered abandoned in a backpack in Shetland

The guinea pigs are now safely at one of the Scottish SPCA rescue and rehoming centres. Image: Scottish SPCA.
The guinea pigs are now safely at one of the Scottish SPCA rescue and rehoming centres. Image: Scottish SPCA.

Three guinea pigs have been found abandoned in a backpack on the corner of a street in Shetland.

The pets were discovered in a bag on the corner of King Haakon Street and King Harald Street at around 10am, on Saturday December 3.

All long-haired guinea pigs, mainly white in colour with brown and black patches, were found in a black bag which had hay in the bottom for them.

Now the Scottish SPCA is appealing for information about the animals, which are in their care.

The bag the three small animals were found in had hay in the bottom. Image: Scottish SPCA

In October, it was reported that calls to the Scottish SPCA helpline have more than trebled due to the cost-of-living crisis.

The charity launched the Pet Aid project in the summer with the aim of “getting ahead” of a situation where people have to give up their pets.

Auxiliary inspector Deborah Caithness said that if people can no longer look after their pets they should rehome them responsibly.

She said: “We understand that people’s circumstances can change, but this is not the right way to give up an animal if you can no longer care for them.

“These guinea pigs are now at one of our animal rescue and rehoming centres where they will receive the care they need.”

If anyone recognises these animals or has any information, the Scottish SPCA is urging them to contact the confidential animal helpline on 03000 999 999.

Conversation