Merseyside 'hot bed' for animal cruelty
The RSPCA labelled Merseyside as one of the worst places in the country for animal cruelty.
A leading animal charity's claiming Merseyside is among the worst places in the country for cases of animal cruelty.
The RSPCA have released their latest annual statistics - across the country they found more than half of complaints and investigations related around dogs.
On Merseyside inspectors dealt with 3'468 complaints in 2015. That's down from 3'776 from 2014.
Last year 38 people were convicted over cases of animal cruelty.
Anthony Joynes is an inspector with the RSPCA on the Wirral.
He said: "I'm not surprised by the latest figures. I've been involved in most of them. It's 6th highest in the country and unfortunately, Merseyside is a hot bed for neglect and cruelty"
"From the work I do day to day, it seems like dogs are the main target for it. They get the raw end of the deal. I find we're dealing with a lot of neglect cases by way of advice to dealing with high level cruelty, beatings.
"There are cases that I've lost sleep over, it's hard for me to switch off sometimes when I go home, and I deal with some of the most unthinkable cases, stomach turning cases over the last few years"
"I dealt with one case last year where a puppy was punched in the face and had its jaw broken. Animal's being drowned, stabbed, burned. I'm trying to make a difference."