Animal cruelty on the rise in Leicestershire & Rutland
It comes as the RSPCA launches its Cancel out Cruelty campaign, that raises awareness of the issue and aims to stop cruelty to animals for good.
Last updated 4th Jul 2023
We're hearing that the RSPCA in Leicestershire and Rutland is preparing for its busiest year of animal cruelty, as new figures show the issue is on the rise.
There were over 200 reports of intentional harm against animals in our area in 2022 - and figures nationally are up almost 15%.
It comes as the RSPCA launches it's Cancel out Cruelty campaign, that raises awareness of the issue and aims to stop cruelty to animals for good.
Nicola Walker works for our local RSPCA branch and tells us more:
"It's all really sad stuff and and it's not just kind of, you know, domestic animals. It's our wildlife as well that get targeted. So yeah, sadly the county is reflecting what we're seeing nationally as well.
"We'll never truly know why it happens, but one of the the reasons some people put forward for the fact this issue is biggest in the summer, is because obviously the days are longer. So people are out and about more, and perhaps they're seeing more incidents. But we will never fully know why it is happening."
The national figures, exclusively released by the RSPCA, shows:
- In 2022 the charity saw a 22% increase in reports of beatings (9,658 in 2022, compared to 7,857 in 2021) that’s 26 every day.
- The number of beatings reported to the RSPCA in 2022 peaked in August, when 1,081 reports were received - a staggering 35 a day
- The number of animals killed in ‘suspicious circumstances’ increased in 2022 by 15% from by 2021 (891 in 2022, compared to 775 in 2021)
- 77% of all cruelty complaints reported to the charity 2022 were beatings
Nicola added that it was difficult to comprehend the figures:
"Speaking personally... you feel really sad because you know that there's so many animals out there that have been suffering, and any animal lover knows how heart-breaking that is to think about.
"So for me, it's just really heart wrenching to think of all the different types of animals that have been suffering at the hands of us humans."
Overall, the number of reports made nationally to the charity’s cruelty line about intentional harm to animals - including beatings, mutilations such as ear cropping, poisonings and even killings - has increased by 14%, with 12,582 reported last year compared to 11,012 reports in 2021.
As a result, the animal charity is bracing for one of its busiest summers this year as it expects another summer of suffering, with more people reporting cruelty to animals from July to September.
The charity has launched its Cancel Out Cruelty campaign, to raise funds to help its frontline rescue teams continue to save animals from cruelty and abuse and to raise awareness about how to stop cruelty to animals for good.