There have been 1,715 incidents of “intentional harm to animals” in Cheshire over past five years, latest RSPCA figures show.
The stats were released as the charity launches its new “Cancel Out Cruelty” campaign.
The charity has released the figures today which can be viewed on an interactive Cruelty Map
Among cruelty incidents in Cheshire was a man who kicked his dog in the face in Crewe, causing a haemorrhage.
A witness called RSPCA and police after seeing the dog’s owner picking them up by their scruff and throwing the dog away before calling her back and repeating the process twice more, before kicking the dog.
The dog was found to have haemorrhages to her eye, consistent with head trauma, and a blood test showed levels of enzymes that are released when muscles are traumatised.
The man was found guilty of two offences and sentenced to an 18-month community order with two requirements – 20 rehabilitation days and 140 hours of unpaid work.
He was disqualified from keeping all animals for five years, with no appeal for three years.
He was also ordered to pay costs of £2,400 and a victim surcharge of £95.
The new Cancel Out Cruelty campaign aims to raise funds to keep rescue teams on the frontline.
The RSPCA gets around 84,000 calls to its cruelty line every month and around 1,500 of those are about intentional cruelty.
This rises in the summer months – and July is one of the busiest.
Beatings, knife crime, drowning and intentional killing are just some of the horrific incidents RSPCA animal rescuers deal with every day.
Dermot Murphy, head of RSPCA animal rescue teams, said: “We always sadly see a rise in cruelty during the Summer months.
“As well as more people being out and about in the longer sunny days, seeing and reporting abuse, we feel there are a number of factors which contribute to this rise.
“Unfortunately, the hot summer days can lead to more people drinking alcohol in the sun which can be a factor in causing violence.
“There could also be boredom during the long holidays and more pressures at home – when the whole family is on holiday from school and work, existing difficulties in the home can be magnified.
“During these hot months, calls to our cruelty line rise, putting more pressure on our already stretched frontline rescue teams.
“Police forces reported a rise in domestic violence last year during lockdown and we are concerned that similar pressures which led to this rise may also have impacted on more cruelty to animals behind closed doors during the pandemic.
“The past year has seen a reportedly huge rise in pet ownership* and we know most people would not dream of harming an animal.
“However, we are concerned that, as we come out of lockdown and people return to their jobs outside the home or suffer financial pressures, we will see more animals suffer if their owners find themselves unable to cope.
“We are urging people in Cheshire to support our campaign to Cancel Out Cruelty so we can all work together to end cruelty towards animals.
“We urge anyone who wants to report animal cruelty to us to call our hotline on 0300 1234 999.”
Nationally in 2020 the RSPCA received 354,784 calls to its cruelty hotline during the summer months (June- August).-
In 2020, they received 8,214 calls about someone beating an animal – almost one an hour.
To donate to the Cancel Out Cruelty campaign, visit www.rspca.org.uk/stopcruelty
You can also help by volunteering, becoming a campaigner or by becoming a fundraiser
(Library image provided by RSPCA for display purposes only)
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