South Yorkshire an ‘animal cruelty hotspot’, new figures show

Over the last five years, the RSPCA has received 3,055 reports of intentional cruelty to animals in the county — making it the sixth-highest area for animal cruelty reports.

In 2020, there were 337 incidents referring to complaints about intentional harm to animals in the area.

Beatings, knife crime, drowning and intentional killing are just some of the horrific incidents RSPCA animal rescuers deal with every day. 

This week, police launched an investigation after receiving reports of teenage boys shooting a swan with an air rifle in Darfield.

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

“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 to this rise.

“Unfortunately, the hot summer days can lead to more people drinking alcohol 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, existing difficulties in the home can be magnified. 

“During these hot months, calls to our cruelty line rise, putting more pressure on our already stretched frontline rescue teams.”

The charity is concerned animal cruelty behind closed doors has also risen during the pandemic, similar to the reported rise in domestic abuse.

The RSPCA gets around 84,000 calls to its cruelty line every month and around 1,500 of those are about intentional cruelty. 

But the charity sees a rise in the summer by around 400 calls, on average, per month, which equates to 47 calls every day or two every hour. 

July is a particularly busy month for investigating cruelty — last year the RSPCA 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.

“The past year has seen a reportedly huge rise in pet ownership and we know most people would not dream of harming an animal,” said Mr Murphy.

“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.”

The charity has released the figures as part of its Cancel Out Cruelty campaign, to raise funds to keep its rescue teams out on the frontline saving animals in need of help and to raise awareness about how we can all help stamp out cruelty.

The RSPCA’s interactive cruelty hotspot map on its website shows how many reports of intentional cruelty it has received for each county in the last five years.

To report animal cruelty, call the RSPCA hotline on 0300 1234 999.