Asha Mehta looks behind the figures, and finds out the stories of some of the pets in our area that have been neglected by their owners.

FOUR starving puppies who had suffered their whole lives without enough food or water and a dog who had lost almost all his hair from a severe untreated skin infection – just two of the horrific cases encountered by RSPCA inspectors in Peterborough during 2007.

As the charity released its latest figures, it was revealed that there was a shocking 34 per cent increase in cruelty to dogs nationally – and a spokeswoman said a similar rise could be expected in the city.

There was also a 15 per cent rise in cruelty to cats and a 12 per cent increase in cruelty investigations overall.

And after a county-by-county breakdown was published for the first time, it showed 45 convictions for animal cruelty were secured in Cambridgeshire in 2007 – placing it joint 15th out of around 60 counties.

View the RSPCA's national statistics as a PDF
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There were 24 defendants hauled before the courts, and although there were no prison sentences, 12 were given adult written cautions.
The RSPCA blamed the rise in cases on our "throwaway society", where animals are bought on a whim and then discarded when the novelty wears off.

But there were also amazing stories of survival, thanks in part to new legislation which allowed inspectors to take action sooner.

The RSPCA said the new Animal Welfare Act – which came into force during 2007 – was already producing strong results in its first 12 months.

Acting regional superintendent Simon Parker said: "Even in these early days, the benefits of the new law are clear.

"Without the new Act, this year's cruelty figures could have been even more horrific.

"Many of the animals we see are the helpless victims of our throwaway society.

"Today's must-have item quickly turns into tomorrow's cast-off.
"At its worst, this cavalier attitude results in tragedies such as the dog which starved to death while chained to a radiator, or the rabbit which died after trying to eat sawdust to stay alive."

He added that dogs have always borne the brunt of cruelty, from violence to extreme neglect.

Mr Parker said: "But that's what makes this year's horrendous 34 per cent increase even more shocking. It's a massive increase on an already high figure."

The rise in banning orders is a big improvement on the previous year, which had recorded a fall.

The new Animal Welfare Act obliges courts to explain their reasons if they don't impose a ban, and this may have contributed to the increase.

FACTFILE: THE number of animal lovers who callously abandon pets has almost doubled.

Disturbing figures released by the RSPCA for the eastern region, which includes Peterborough, show a 44 per cent increase from 986 in 2006 to 1,417 in 2007.

The society's officers have also been kept busy rescuing animals in distress, helping a total of 29,596, which is 3,000 more than in 2006.

These have included hawks trapped in trees, hamsters dumped in plastic tubs, cattle stranded in flooded fields, and injured dogs and cats.
So far the RSPCA's east region has rescued more than 26,773 animals, 2,621 of which had been abandoned.

The figures also show an increase in owners going to the RSPCA to have unwanted pets re-homed. This went up from 2,180 to 2,864.

There was also a considerable increase in the number of farm animals rescued, from 139 in 2006 to 737 in 2007.

An 18.7 per cent rise was recorded in the number of farm birds rescued, while wild mammal rescues increased from 3,937 to 5,005.

For the second year running, more wild birds were rescued than any other species – 7,021, followed by 6,424 cats. Wild animals were the most frequent victims of traffic accidents, followed by cats.

Dog rescues increased by 15 per cent, and there were 43 animals rescued from floods.

External link:
RSPCA Peterborough & District Branch