The RSPCA has had a consistently high prosecution success rate over the past few years – 97.1 per cent in 2007 and 97.6 per cent in 2008, rising to 98.3 per cent in 2009.
The number of cruelty complaints that led to investigations steadily increased from 110,841 in 2005 to 141,280 in 2009. In 2005 and 2007 the number of convictions was around 1,770 but in 2006 there were approximately 300 less.
The most recent figures for 2008 and 2009 are similar – 2,408 and 2,492 convictions respectively showing quite a large increase (PPA and AWA). With the introduction of the Animal Welfare Act in 2006 and the welfare offence, which means that people can now be taken to court and convicted for not ensuring their animal’s needs, it is perhaps not surprising that convictions, telephone calls and complaints have risen.
For more information, read the 'RSPCA investigations' indicator.
Animal cruelty complaints investigated by the RSPCA
