Hundreds of animal cruelty calls in Bedfordshire over three years

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Cases of deliberate harm peak around now

Hundreds of calls warning of deliberate animal cruelty in Bedfordshire have been made to RSPCA helplines over the last three years, new figures show.

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The RSPCA said it is a "sad reality" that the charity deals with animal cruelty on a daily basis.

Its figures show there were 132 calls to its helpline for reporting intentional harm to an animal in Bedfordshire last year – up from 107 in 2020.

Calls to the RSPCA between July and September rose from 27 to 38 year-on-yearCalls to the RSPCA between July and September rose from 27 to 38 year-on-year
Calls to the RSPCA between July and September rose from 27 to 38 year-on-year
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There were 170 calls over deliberate cruelty in 2019, meaning there have been a total of 409 in the last three years alone.

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Intentional harm incidents involve attempted or improper killings, beatings, poisonings, mutilations and injuries or deaths in suspicious circumstances.

Dermot Murphy, RSPCA chief inspectorate officer, said: "It is a sad reality that we deal with animal cruelty every day here at the RSPCA.

"We are a nation of animal lovers but yet we received over 11,000 complaints of intentional harm through our helpline last year reporting animals from cats, dogs, hedgehogs and everything in between who have sadly been victims of deliberate cruelty.

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"We need your help to keep our frontline officers out on the road saving animals and to help us raise awareness that this cruelty is never acceptable."

Mr Murphy also highlighted the rise in intentional harm calls during the summer months – nationally, more calls were taken between July and September than any other three-month period last year.

August was the busiest month for the RSPCA nationally, with 1,041 calls taken – an increase of 10% on the same month the year before.

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In 2021, July had the highest number of reports in Bedfordshire, while calls between July and September rose from 27 to 38 year-on-year.

The RSPCA is concerned that the rise in pet ownership during the coronavirus pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis could lead to a rise in animal cruelty incidents in the future.

The charity received more than 1 million calls reporting all types of cruelty in 2021, with more than 1,000 killings and almost 8,000 beatings reported.

Meanwhile, more than 38,000 animal abandonments were recorded last year.

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