Longer jail demand for pet cruelty

BRITAIN’S worst animal abusers should face up to five years in jail, says the RSPCA.

The charity is today demanding tougher sentences for cruelty after dealing with more than 47,000 shocking cases during lockdown.

In one sickening attack, a Staffordshire bull terrier called Hollie was found beheaded on a patio with a leg cut off. In another, a dead dog was found floating in a lake weighed down by a motorbike chain.

The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill is set to bring changes into law this autumn – but the RSPCA fears it could be forgotten amid the coronavirus crisis.

The charity’s David Bowles said: “Provisions only allow for a maximum six months in prison. You can face a longer sentence for fly tipping than beating an animal to death.”

Hollie’s owner Andrea Jarvis, of Wolverhampton, said: “Nothing could prepare me for what I found – it was horrific and so upsetting. I am struggling to sleep at night now.”

Police and the RSPCA are seeking information to find the culprit.