AN ANTI-CRUELTY campaign has revealed there were 835 reports of deliberate cruelty to animals in Warwickshire over the last five years.
The RSPCA released the figures today – which can be viewed on an interactive Cruelty Map – as part of its new campaign Cancel out Cruelty. The campaign aims to help fund the charity’s rescue teams to continue saving animals in need and to raise awareness about how cruelty can be prevented.
It says staff experience a rise by around 400 calls in summer – around 50 a day – relating to cases of intentional cruelty including beatings, knife crime, and drowning.
Last July, the RSPCA dealt with a spike in intentional cruelty as over 1,500 incidents were reported to its emergency helpline, and the charity is expecting a similar rise this year.
Head of RSPCA animal rescue teams Dermot Murphy 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.”
He added the past year had seen a huge rise in pet ownership and the company was concerned financial pressure as lockdown eases, and as people return to the workplace, could see more pets suffer.
Money raised from the campaign will go towards rescue equipment and care for rescued animals.
Visit www.rspca.org.uk/stopcruelty for information and to donate.
