Animal cruelty complaints on rise in county
THE RSPCA has revealed a sharp rise in the number of animal cruelty complaints investigated in Greater Manchester.
The charity said there were a total of 7,708 cases last year - 375 more than in 2015.
RSPCA bosses point to social media, however, as a possible cause for the increase as more people expose and report animal abuse on Facebook and Twitter through images and video footage.
The charity’s annual cruelty statistics report reveals that across England and Wales there were 149,604 complaints formerly investigated - a increase of more than 6,000 from 2015.
Nationally, the charity said the figure equated to more than 400 allegations every day last year. Calls to a 24-hour cruelty hotline also rose by nearly four per cent to around 1.2 million calls.
The majority of complaints continued to be about dogs.
Only in London and West Yorkshire were more complaints recorded than in Greater Manchester. Dermot Murphy, assistant director of the RSPCA inspectorate, said: “It continues to outrage and sadden me that people can be capable of such deliberate brutality towards animals, but equally it drives me on to ensure that perpetrators of animal cruelty are put before the courts.
“I believe the figures from last year show we’re not becoming crueller, but that people are simply less willing to stand by and do nothing if they think an animal is suffering.
“People are increasingly likely to share images or footage on their social media accounts of animals they believe are not being cared for properly, while many will see material their friends have shared and then contact us about them.”
Fewer people, however, were convicted of animal cruelty offences last year than they were in 2015.
The report reveals 744 people were successfully prosecuted - a drop of more than six per cent. Investigators secured 628 bans from keeping animals as pets after prosecutions - again representing a fall of four per cent.
Mr Murphy said: “I take pride in knowing that, because of the RSPCA, we have prevented many more animals from suffering at the hands of those who we have brought before the courts.”