It’s a cruel summer – RSPCA gets one call every 30 seconds about animal abuse
Between January and the end of July this year we received 806,356 calls to our 24-hour national cruelty line.
This is an average of 3,822 every day – one every 30 seconds.
RSPCA inspectors report an increasingly horrifying catalogue of animal crimes over the summer months including public dog hangings, a live cat being flung into the Thames, a dog found tortured with a cable tie around his penis, five kittens left to die in a suitcase and even wild animals being spray painted.
And some of our calls are just bizarre. One of our inspectors collected a Mexican Red Knee tarantula found straying in Hounslow town centre on Friday 1st August and another inspector removed two 'house ducks' from a vivarium in a flat in Chatham, Kent.
"This has been one of the cruellest summers our workers on the ground have ever seen and Saturday looks set to be the day from hell – with the remnants of the Atlantic hurricane arriving; school holidays in full swing and other height of summer issues. " said RSPCA Chief Officer of the Inspectorate Kevin Degenhard.
“We are close to breaking point. No-one involved with the RSPCA wants to let an animal in need down, but we really need urgent help. We are asking people who see an animal in need over the weekend and through the summer to think whether they are able to help the animal themselves before calling the helpline."
In addition:
? Rehoming has dropped 15 per cent since our peak in 2011. This summer looks set to be the worst with a 17 per cent drop in rehoming rates.
? Collections of abandoned cats are up 13.6 per cent on last year.
? We have received more than 250 calls about animals shot with air guns between June 1st – July 31st an increase of more than six per cent compared to last year.
? We received almost 151,200 calls in June alone (average of five thousand calls a day – 210 calls an hour or 3.5 calls every 60 seconds.
? In June we received almost 4,900 more calls than in June 2013
? This year has also been particularly busy due to the hot weather. The RSPCA has received 2,369 complaints relating to the hot weather between July 1 2014 and August 4 2014. This is an increase of more than 300 compared with the same timeframe in 2013 and more than twice the number of calls received in 2012.
RSPCA, Wilberforce Way, Southwater, Horsham, West Sussex RH13 9RS
Press office direct lines: 0300 123 0244/0288 Fax: 0303 123 0099
Duty press officer (evenings and weekends) Tel 07825 158490
Email: press@rspca.org.uk Website: www.rspca.org.uk
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Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals registered charity no: 219099 Registered office: RSPCA, Wilberforce Way, Southwater, Horsham, West Sussex, RH13 9RS
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