Animal cruelty at 'all-time high'
Reports of animal cruelty are at an all-time high, an animal charity has this morning unfortunately had to reveal.
The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) has this morning highlighted the increased number of animal cruelty reports received by the charity as it launched its annual Inspectorate Report.
There’s been 17,338 calls for help recorded last year while 86,549 calls have been received by the ISPCA National Animal Cruelty Helpline since 2014, the year in which the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 (AHWA) was introduced.
The report outlines the 18 prosecutions with which ISPCA Inspectors were involved that were resolved in the courts in 2018. ISPCA Animal Welfare Inspectors carried out 3,494 investigations with 1,102 animals seized or surrendered and taken into ISPCA care.
In response to the increase in cruelty cases, the ISPCA is issuing an urgent appeal asking the public to make a donation to help the most vulnerable animals at ispca.ie/donate/once_off.
Since the AHWA came into force only five years ago, the ISPCA Helpline has handled 86,549 calls. 17,832 investigations have been carried out by ISPCA Inspectors with 5,147 animals seized/surrendered, and ISPCA inspectors have been involved with 64 prosecutions for animal cruelty which have been successfully resolved in court.
ISPCA Chief Inspector Conor Dowling said said: “Whilst the ISPCA has been disappointed with the penalties imposed in some cases, we recently saw a three year prison term handed down to a man who pleaded guilty last October to 30 charges of animal cruelty. This case was the biggest in the ISPCA’s history and involved the removal of 340 dogs and 11 horses.”
Mr Dowling added: “This particular case highlighted in the report was almost four years coming to a conclusion. Even though it was so long ago, the events of that week are still fresh in the memories of all those who witnessed those scenes. Never in my 20 years’ service have I seen such extreme suffering on such a scale.”