Campaign is launched about animal cruelty

THE RSPCA has launched a campaign after figures showed there were 1,443 reports of deliberate cruelty to animals in Leicestershire in the past five years.

The charity released the figures as part of its Cancel Out Cruelty campaign, to raise money and awareness of how the public can help protect animals.

It said nationwide it receives 84,000 calls to its cruelty line every month, 1,500 of which are about intentional cruelty.

Incidents in Leicestershire included a hedgehog being thrown into a river by a group of teenagers in Market Harborough.

Witnesses were able to retrieve the hedgehog from the water and took it home until the RSPCA could collect it.

Last July, the RSPCA said it 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 month.

Dermot Murphy, head of RSPCA animal rescue teams, said: “We always, sadly, see a rise in cruelty during the summer.

“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. The hot summer days can lead to more people drinking 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.

“Police 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.

“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 Leicestershire 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.”