Big rise in animal cruelty convictions

The number of people across the Midlands convicted of animal cruelty has soared by nearly a quarter in the past 12 months, it emerged today.

The RSPCA said that across the Midlands, 192 people were convicted for cruelty and neglect last year compared with 155 in 2010 – a rise of just under 24 per cent.

And bosses admitted that less than half of those reported had been brought to justice.

Within the Midlands, there were 37 cases reported to the RSPCA in Staffordshire, with just 14 being brought to justice, while in the West Midlands this figure was 67 convictions from 151 reports.

The number of court-ordered bans on keeping animals also increased by 27 per cent, up to 169 from 133, along with the number of prison sentences imposed – up to 20 from 19.

Among the cases dealt with by the charity in the last year was the so-called "Wolverhampton House of Horror", where two dogs, two cats and two smaller animals were left trapped to die of starvation.

Only one dog, named Beethoven by rescue staff, survived.

Their owner – Matthew Pearson, aged 28, of Graisley Lane, Bilston – was jailed for 20 weeks and banned from keeping pets for 10 years after admitting 34 counts of animal cruelty. District Judge Michael Wheeler called it "the worst case of animal cruelty I can recall."

Across the country, the charity – which has launched its major fundraising push, RSPCA Week 2012 – saw a 23.5 per cent rise in the number of people convicted for cruelty and neglect, with a 22 per cent rise in the number of cases relating to dogs.

These include a dog repeatedly stabbed with a potato peeler, a blind kitten found dumped in a carrier bag and two cases where dozens of dogs were kept in squalid conditions.

The RSPCA says it is being stretched to breaking point by the increasing workrload. Sally Case, the RSPCA's head of society prosecutions, said: "The RSPCA strives to keep animals with their owners wherever possible and offers advice on improving their welfare.

"Overwhelmingly, this advice is followed but where it isn't or where someone has already harmed an animal, there has to be a way of ensuring that animals are not left to suffer.

"The RSPCA is the charity people turn to, and we are struggling to continue providing this service.

"Of course we work closely with governmental and other charitable organisations but we are the main organisation which prosecutes those who abuse animals and which can prevent cruelty to animals."