UK people listen to animal welfare message

Animal cruelty convictions down

German shepherd named "Blade" suffered neglect for two months

Convictions for animal cruelty in the UK fell by 20% last year, according to new figures released by the RSPCA.

The charity said the statistics showed people were beginning to listen to its animal welfare message.

It also said new legislation introduced in April was enabling it to intervene earlier to prevent acts of cruelty.

The RSPCA review of 2006 did, however, include "shocking" examples of cruelty including a starving dog forced to eat dead companions to survive.


The charity's 2006 cruelty statistics showed overall that, although there were more complaints investigated, there were fewer convictions than the previous year. [Read more...]