Hundreds of calls warning of deliberate animal cruelty in Gloucestershire have been made to RSPCA helplines over the last three years, new figures show.
RSPCA figures show there were 139 calls to its helpline for reporting intentional harm to an animal in Gloucestershire last year – down from 148 in 2020.
There were 218 calls over deliberate cruelty in 2019, meaning there have been a total of 505 in the last three years alone.
Intentional harm incidents involve attempted or improper killings, beatings, poisonings, mutilations and injuries or deaths in suspicious circumstances.
Dermot Murphy, RSPCA chief inspectorate officer, said: "It is a sad reality that we deal with animal cruelty every day here at the RSPCA."
Mr Murphy also highlighted the rise in calls during the summer months – nationally, more calls were taken between July and September than any other three-month period last year.
August was the busiest month with 1,041 calls taken – an increase of 10% on the same month the year before.
But in 2021, March had the highest number of reports in Gloucestershire, though calls between July and September fell from 44 to 29 year-on-year.
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