Figures released today by the RSPCA have revealed 200 cat cruelty complaints were made in Dorset last year.

The charity has released the 'heartbreaking' figures as part of its Cancel Out Cruelty campaign, in a bid to raise funds to help its frontline rescue teams continue to save animals from cruelty and abuse.

It comes during a busy time for the animal welfare charity which sees cruelty peak in the summer with three reports made every single minute.

The cost-of-living crisis is also thought to be a contributing factor to an increase in deliberate harm to animals at a time when the cost of rescuing animals is at an all-time high and services are 'stretched to the limit'.

The figures are released in the same week the News' sister paper the Dorset Echo reported on the case of cowardly animal abuser Harry Taberner who caused 'serious harm' to a pet cat named Tallulah in Chickerell. This case would not be included in the figures as it dates from 2021.

Taberner was jailed and banned from keeping animals for five years. A court said that the vile offence was so serious because of ‘prolonged sadistic behaviour towards an animal'.

Nationally, last year, there were almost 18,000 cat cruelty complaints reported to the RSPCA. Of those reports 1,726 were intentional harm incidents - which is around five a day. This is a 25% increase from 2021 when the number was 1,387.

Lewis Taylor, RSPCA, chief inspector for Dorset said: “Right now, animal cruelty is happening in England and Wales on a massive scale and rising. It is heartbreaking that we are seeing such sad figures which show animal cruelty is, very sadly, on the rise.

“While we don’t know for certain why there has been an increase, the cost of living crisis and the post-pandemic world we live in has created an animal welfare crisis.

“Each year, these reports reach its terrible annual peak in the summer months. The cost-of-living crisis also means the cost of rescuing animals is at an all-time high and our vital services are stretched to the limit.”

Dr Sam Gaines, head of the RSPCA’s companion animal department, said: “Cats are one of the most popular pets in the UK with an estimated 11 million pet cats in UK homes but our figures suggest sadly they are the second most abused pet - after dogs.

“We see hundreds of felines come through our doors every year who have been subjected to unimaginable cruelty - being beaten, burned, thrown around, had bones broken, been shot at, poisoned and drowned.

“In many cases these pets have been injured deliberately by their owners - the very people who are supposed to love and protect them. But cats are also more vulnerable as they tend to be out and about on their own which can leave them vulnerable to airgun attacks and other forms of cruelty by complete strangers.”

The RSPCA is the only charity rescuing animals and investigating cruelty in England and Wales with a team of frontline rescue officers, specialist vet teams and a network of animal care centres and 140 branches providing rehabilitation to animal victims.

To help support the RSPCA, visit: www.rspca.org.uk/cruelty