Nine out of 10 guilty of animal cruelty evade jail

Just one in 10 people convicted of animal cruelty are given a prison sentence, a report shows, amid fears that perpetrators go on to commit more serious crimes.

In the 10 years leading up to the end of 2015, 13,835 offences, including murder and rape, were committed by those with a previous conviction or caution for animal cruelty.

The Centre for Crime Prevention, which compiled the report, said that, despite strong evidence of links to other crimes, serious penalties are rare, with more than 92 per cent of those found guilty avoiding prison.