The RSPCA released today their annual cruelty statistics which show that almost 57 percent of complaints investigated in 2015 were about dogs. This is compared to just below 24 percent about cats - the second most abused pet.
The statistics reveal a shocking catalogue of abuse and neglect towards animals in 2015, with inspectors dealing with incidents including:
- A bull terrier stabbed 11 times and then dumped in a bin to slowly bleed to death.
- A pug puppy punched so hard part of her jaw fell out.
- Four eight-week-old kittens strangled and bashed over the head with a hammer.
- A Chihuahua cross stolen, set on fire, and punched and attacked until his neck broke. He was then dumped at a rubbish tip to die.
- A terrier found wandering South Yorkshire streets with skin condition so bad it had left her scabby and bald (pictured).
Dermot Murphy, assistant director for the Inspectorate, said:
People think of dogs as man’s best friend but these statistics tell a different story. They're by far the most abused animal in this country and we investigate more complaints related to them than any other species.
The stories we're telling today show a snapshot of the horrific level of cruelty we've seen in the last year, which have to be some the most extreme cases I've ever heard of.
This year’s cruelty statistics show that in 2015 there were:
- 81,146 investigations into complaints of cruelty towards dogs.
- 33,844 into cats and 15,965 into equines.
- Overall there were 143,004 complaints investigated into animal cruelty in 2015, slightly down on 159,831 in 2014.
- 796 people convicted of animal welfare offences, compared to 1,029 in 2014.
The highest number of complaints investigated were in Greater London (11,050), followed by West Yorkshire (7,694) and then Greater Manchester (7,333).
The number of owners who were offered, and accepted, animal welfare advice is showing a general increase, with 81,475 accepting advice in 2015 compared to approximately 78,000 in 2007.
Dermot added:
It's encouraging that some of the figures are down on last year and that the numbers of complaints being dealt with by education and advice are going up, as we would always much rather improve animal welfare by giving advice to owners if at all possible.
Yet even if some of the overall numbers are lower, the level of depravity we've seen in 2015 cases are up there with some of the most extreme we've ever known.
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