A U.K. animal rescue agency was forced to verify that a startling photo of dozens of rescue dogs crammed into an abandoned living room space was real, after many thought it was AI-generated.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), the world’s oldest and largest animal welfare charity, said it rescued 87 dogs from an undisclosed location in the U.K., while the remainder were taken in by the Dogs Trust, another animal rescue organization.

The charity said it found 250 dogs in total and shared an Instagram image of many of them huddled inside a decrepit-looking building.

Shortly after sharing the photo, the charity was accused online of using artificial intelligence to create it and was forced to clarify that the image was real.

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“We can confirm that AI has not been used to create this image. As much as we wish this image wasn’t real, sadly, it very much is – and we are being called to more and more multi-animal reports like this. We don’t need to use AI as we have countless stories to share about the animals our frontline teams are helping,” it wrote in a comment beneath the original photograph.

The charity explained that it sees incidents like this often and that they happen for many reasons, such as “mental health conditions, disability, bereavements, and serious financial issues.”

“These cases are often complex, and the people involved need help and support to get back onto the right path or to access the services they need themselves,” it wrote.

The owner of the 250 poodle-cross dogs was an extremely vulnerable elderly person, the charity added.

“The numbers and living conditions of the dogs had rapidly spiralled out of control, and help was sought for them once someone discovered how the owner had been living,” it continued.

Jo Hirst, a superintendent for the RSPCA, told The Guardian that the owners will not be prosecuted because they are deemed “extremely vulnerable.”

Mass rescues like this are on the rise, according to the charity, which responded to over 75 incidents last year, each involving 100 or more animals.

Situations like these place immense strain on resources, the charity added, saying it was grateful to the other charities and public bodies that support us during these complex, multi-agency operations.

Cases like this have also been reported across Canada.

In October last year, a coalition of Alberta animal rescue groups seized more than 290 animals from two properties in northern Alberta.

The Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS) said the rescue took place near Valleyview, Alta., about 350 km northwest of Edmonton, and involved the RCMP, Canadian Animal Task Force (CATF) and a coalition of more than a dozen other animal rescue organizations from across the province.

The rescue involved dogs, cats, livestock and a large number of horses who had been living in extremely poor conditions and needed urgent help.

In 2025, the Ontario SPCA said it helped 6,325 animals be adopted, including 1,917 dogs, 4,106 cats, and 302 small animals.

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