My team and I were out delivering leaflets in Hallaton when I came across a sign warning pet owners that a local cat had been shot with an air rifle. As a pet owner myself, I am sickened by this sort of animal cruelty.
The crime of animal cruelty stretches further than this sort of incident. It includes when someone doesn’t care for or deliberately hurts an animal. It can include anything from physical violence, to deliberate mental distress or neglect, for example not feeding or cleaning an animal.
If you see, or suspect, that a person may be treating an animal badly, whether this is physical violence, neglect or any other form of cruelty, you should as a first instance report this to the RSPCA, who have a 24 hour animal cruelty hotlien on 0300 1234 999. The call will cost the same as any call to a UK landline number.
I want to see the police working with the RSPCA to investigate cases of animal cruelty.
