Wednesday July 30,2008 | By Jo Willey | http://www.express.co.uk/
BRITAIN’S reputation as a nation of animal lovers took a battering yesterday after figures revealed a huge increase in people mistreating their pets.
The number of people convicted of cruelty to animals soared by almost a quarter last year, said the RSPCA.
This follows the introduction of the Animal Welfare Act which took effect last April and gives inspectors greater powers.
Almost half a million animals needed help, as a catalogue of cruelty was revealed by the charity. Thousands of animals have been found beaten, tortured, discarded and starved.
Experts said these pets were the “helpless victims” of Britain’s burgeoning “throwaway society”.
Shocking figures found a 34 per cent increase in convictions for cruelty to dogs, a 15 per cent conviction increase for cruelty to cats and a 12 per cent increase in cruelty investigations. Inspectors were called out to deal with 498,999 animals in 2007.
But under the Act, 92 per cent of owners heeded advice given by the RSPCA. The Act makes owners and keepers legally responsibility for the care and welfare of their animals.
But despite this, the figures reveal that 1,149 people were convicted of crimes against animals including dogs, cats, horses and rats, up from 927 in 2006.
A total of 54 prison sentences were handed down, up 42 per cent on 2006, while 71 suspended sentences were imposed.