Animal cruelty

“LONDON (Reuters) - Cruelty to animals is rising fast in Britain's "affluent, throwaway society," the RSPCA said in a report on Wednesday.
Among the worst incidents were the discovery of a dog's decaying body chained to a radiator, a cat kicked to death for having muddy paws and 316 rats crammed into just eight cages.
As many as 137,245 alleged acts of cruelty to animals were committed in 2007, a 12 percent rise on the previous year, according to the annual report by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
"These animals are the helpless victims of our affluent, throwaway society," said Tim Wass, chief officer of the RSPCA Inspectorate.
"They're bought on a whim and discarded when the novelty wears off. Today's must-have item quickly turns into tomorrows cast-off.
"Worse still, some animals are violently abused because they don't meet their owners’ unrealistic expectations -- like the dog strangled with its lead for misbehaving."
Amid the grim statistics, many pets are now enjoying new lives in good homes after the RSPCA intervened, including a dog so thin rescuers were unable to identify its breed and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier whose owners had cut its ears off.
Wass said the cruelty figures might have been worse had it not been for the introduction of the Animal Welfare Act in 2007, which allows the charity to intervene more quickly when there are cruelty concerns.
"Even in these early days, the benefits of the new law are clear," said Wass. "Without the new Act, this year's cruelty figures could have been even more horrific."
The RPSCA was particularly concerned by the 34 percent rise (1,917 people) in convictions for cruelty to dogs in 2007 as well as 13 percent increase (119) in convictions for cruelty to horses.
"Dogs have always borne the brunt of cruelty -- from violent outbursts to extreme neglect," said Wass.
"But that's what makes this year's horrendous 34 percent increase even more shocking: it's a massive increase on an already high figure."
British courts also issued 861 banning orders during 2007, preventing people from keeping animals in future if they had been convicted of cruelty.”

I read this story today and it made me feel sick. I hope it does you too. Not that I particularly go out of my way to shock on my blog, but animal cruelty is horrific and is often linked to, or part of, cruelty to humans as well (inc. things like domestic violence and child abuse).

I watched Send in the Dogs on ITV (I think) last night. It’s a series following police dogs. There are some officers that are not only dog handlers, but who have been specially trained to identify dogs regardless of how mixed breed they might be.

They pulled over one young man who had what looked like a soppy Lab cross and which they claimed had pit bull in him. My partner was a bit surprised but I thought it was fairly obvious in the muzzle area and the shape of his head that he was terrier crossed. More sinister perhaps – and not immediately obvious – was the amount of scars on his muzzle, ears, head and neck. This was or had been a fighting animal. The young man said he was upset that his dog was being taken away. Personally I thought he should have been slightly more upset at the violence and cruelty he was perpetrating and the anxiety and pain he was causing his animal, but I’m an old fashioned sort…

When we were looking to adopt another dog we checked out lots of websites such as Mayhew, RSPCA, Battersea, Dogs Trust etc., and we came across some truly awful stories. Stories that made you cry and your stomach twist. I think prison is too good for some of these people...

Pluto and Bess were abused and neglected but remarkably they were the lucky ones - and so were we. There are so many that don't make it, or do, but then never get rehomed...