1,715 incidents of intentional harm to animals in Cheshire over past five years

The RSPCA today launches a new campaign to ‘Cancel Out Cruelty’ as figures released today show there were 1,715 reports of deliberate cruelty to animals in Cheshire in the last five years.

The charity has released the figures today - which you can view on an interactive Cruelty Map - as part of its Cancel Out Cruelty campaign, to raise funds to keep its rescue teams out on the frontline saving animals in desperate need of help and to raise awareness about how we can all help stamp out cruelty for good.

The RSPCA gets around 84,000 calls to its cruelty line every month and around 1,500 of those are about intentional cruelty. But the charity sees a rise in the Summer by around 400 calls, on average, per month, which equates to 47 calls every day or two every hour.

July is a particularly busy month for investigating cruelty - last year the RSPCA dealt with a spike in intentional cruelty as 1,532 incidents were called through to their emergency helpline and the charity is expecting a similar spike this July.

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.”

Among the incidents of cruelty the RSPCA has dealt with in Cheshire is a dog who was kicked in the face by her owner in Crewe.

A witness reported their concerns to the RSPCA and police after they saw the dog’s owner picking them up by their scruff and then throwing the dog away from him before calling her back and repeating the process twice more, before kicking the dog.

After being examined by vets, 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 dog’s owner was found guilty of two offences and was 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.

National facts and stats

• In 2020 we received 354,784 calls to our cruelty hotline during the summer months (June- August) about all kinds of cruelty and neglect

• In 2020 we received 4,339 reports about intentional cruelty during the summer months (June-August) - around 47 a day or 2 an hour

• July is our busiest month for investigating complaints - last year we received 34,550 calls throughout the month. The average number of calls we got a month last year was 25,072

• In 2020 we received 8,214 calls about someone beating an animal - that’s 22 a day - almost one an hour

• We also received 1,496 calls about improper killing in 2020 - an increase from 964 in 2019

• This is an increase from 2019 when we received 5,757 calls about someone beating an animal

• The RSPCA has had almost 100,000 reports of intentional harm to animals over the last five years

• Every day the RSPCA has six reports of people killing or attempting to kill animals

The RSPCA’s interactive Cruelty Hotspot map shows how many reports of intentional cruelty to animals the charity has received for each county in the last five years.

The RSPCA’s rescue teams need support to stay out on the frontline as the only charity rescuing animals and investigating cruelty. 

• £6 could help pay to feed a dog for a day in our care

• £10 could help pay towards bandages for a cat or dog

• £15 could help pay for a cat or dog’s clinical exam

• £20 could help pay towards a bird catching kit

• £30 could help pay for a life jacket for an inspector

• £100 could help pay towards water rescue equipment

• £500 could kit out a 4x4 inspector van

To donate to the Cancel Out Cruelty campaign and help us continue to rescue animals in need, visit www.rspca.org.uk/stopcruelty.

You can also help Cancel Out Cruelty by volunteering for us, becoming a campaigner to help us change the law for animals for the better, by becoming a fundraiser for the RSPCA, by learning more about animals through our Compassionate Families programme, buying a Cancel Out Cruelty T-shirt and showing it off on social media, or by pledging to help animals in other ways, such as learning more about your pets’ needs, or learning how to help wildlife.