THE RSPCA have launched a new campaign after figures show there were 1,995 reports of deliberate cruelty to animals in North Yorkshire in the past five years.

The charity released the figures yesterday to raise funds to help keep its rescue teams out on the front lines and to raise awareness.

The RSPCA say they receive around 84,000 calls to its cruelty line every month and around 1,500 of those are about intentional cruelty.

Last year in July, the RSPCA dealt with a spike of intentional cruelty cases, receiving calls for 1,532 incidents via their emergency helpline and the charity expects a similar spike this July.

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Dermot Murphy, head of RSPCA animal rescue team, said: "We always sadly see a rise in cruelty during the Summer months. As well as more people being out and about in the longer sunny days, seeing and reporting abuse, we feel there are a number of factors which contribute to this rise.

“Unfortunately, the hot summer days can lead to more people drinking alcohol in the sun which can be a factor in causing violence.

"There could also be boredom during the long holidays and more pressures at home - when the whole family is on holiday from school and work, existing difficulties in the home can be magnified, putting more pressure on our already stretched frontline.

“Police forces reported a rise in domestic violence last year during lockdown and we are concerned that similar pressures which led to this rise may also have impacted on more cruelty to animals behind closed doors during the pandemic.

“The past year has seen a reportedly huge rise in pet ownership* and we know most people would not dream of harming an animal. However, we are concerned that, as we come out of lockdown and people return to their jobs outside the home or suffer financial pressures, we will see more animals suffer if their owners find themselves unable to cope.

“We are urging people in North Yorkshire to support our campaign to Cancel Out Cruelty so we can all work together to end cruelty towards animals."

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