THREE young pet mice have been found abandoned in a wood in Basingstoke.

The RSPCA was called to three young white domestic mice abandoned in a wood off Marshcourt, Lychpit on Tuesday, 19 June.

A concerned member of the public found the mice, two male and one female, left in a cage inside a Sainsbury’s carrier bag.

The mice were inside the cage but left with no water. The cage was inside a nylon Sainsbury’s shopping bag with a bag of mice food.

Having found the abandoned pets, the person who discovered the bag was able to take them to a local vet who then called the RSPCA. The mice are now in RSPCA care.

Inspector Jan Edwards from the RSPCA said: “If anyone knows anything about how these poor mice came to be dumped they can ring our inspectorate appeal line on 0300 123 8018.

“Sadly, we do see small animals dumped and often they are unwanted pets, but there is help out there for people unable to cope - it is never the answer to simply dump an animal.

“We would always recommend any potential owners to do their research before taking on a big commitment like a pet, the RSPCA has lots of care sheets about animals including mice.”

In 2017, the RSPCA saw more than 1,101 abandoned small animals which includes rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, chinchillas, degus, rats, ferrets, gerbils, and mice.

This is up from the previous year when there were 1,029, and in 2015 when there were 984 abandoned small pets reported to the RSPCA.

For more information and to help the RSPCA continue to help abandoned animals, visit: rspca.org.uk/give.