A HAMPSHIRE animal rescue centre has welcomed a legal agreement that could save animals being caught in the middle of a relationship breakdown.

The Southampton Blue Cross says it is often left to pick up the pieces when an animal ends up at the centre after its owners split up.

Now the charity has launched the world’s first Pet Nup.

Developed by specialist lawyers, the document is designed to be the pet equivalent of a pre-nup or pre-nuptial agreement that many couples sign up to before marriage to agree how their assets will be divided if they do not remain together.

This Pet Nup document declares ownership, responsibilities and rights in the event of a relationship breakdown.

It comes as the charity’s survey revealed that 23 per cent of divorced couples in the south-east have argued about ownership of their pets when they split up, just below the one in four seen nationally.

Figures show that marital conflict and relationship breakdown had been behind nearly 1,000 pets being given up to Blue Cross’s 12 rehoming centres over the past five years, including its Southampton branch. That is an average of four a week.

Lara Alford, rehoming centre manager at Blue Cross Southampton, said: “We sometimes deal with some very upsetting situations when pets are brought to us following relationship splits.

“It really is devastating for everyone involved – including the pet.

“One partner will sometimes bring a pet to us for rehoming without the other’s knowledge.

“It makes sense to agree up front who will keep your pet so that they don’t get dragged through the courts or in need of our help to find new homes.”

The Blue Cross study also revealed that when couples in Britain split, in 56 per cent of cases the wife or girlfriend keeps the pet.

For those who could not decide, 15 per cent decided to give them to a family friend, 12 per cent to family members, and six per cent ended up in the care of pet charities.

Nearly a third (30 per cent) of couples admitted that they disagreed about pet care details.

The free document can be downloaded from the Blue Cross website – bluecross.org.uk – along with a Deed of Agreement document that sets out who will take ownership in the event of a break-up.