The RSPCA received 6,322 cruelty calls during last summer – one every ten minutes – as new figures reveal a 64% rise in reports over five years, with 72 cases logged across East Yorkshire
A female white staffy pup was found dumped in Hull(Image: RSPCA)
New figures released by the RSPCA show a 64% annual increase in cruelty reports to the charity during the summer period across England and Wales – with 72 reports in East Yorkshire.
While the nation celebrates the national team’s performance in the competition, there are also fears that with World Cup fever rising the charity will see another crisis this year with England due to play Norway in the last 16 on Saturday. RSPCA research shows domestic abuse incidents spike during football tournaments and sadly pets can also be victims of this crime.
In June, July and August last year the RSPCA received 6,322 cruelty calls to their emergency line which is one call every 10 minutes when the line is open. In comparison the charity took 3,852 calls for the same period in 2021 – showing a 64% increase in five years. Since last year, there has also been a 22% annual increase in cruelty calls, with 21,117 in 2025 compared to 17,260 in 2024. And in East Yorkshire the number of cruelty reports over the summer months was 72 – slightly down from 73 the year before.
In one cruelty case the body of an emaciated puppy was found dumped in suspicious circumstances in Hull. A member of the public made the discovery at Brackley Park, by the Hornsea rail line and contacted the animal welfare charity. The white female Staffy, who was thought to be around nine months old, was so underweight she was given the lowest possible body condition score. She also had an untreated mass and was bleeding from her right ear.
Despite an appeal for information the person responsible for abandoning the puppy could not be traced. RSPCA Superintendent Jo Hirst said: “It’s incredibly alarming that we are seeing year after year of rising reports of cruelty. The summer months are our busiest times of year and our frontline rescue teams, specialist vets, behaviourists, rehabilitation and rehoming teams, will be working tirelessly to help as many animals as possible. Today we have launched our Cruelty Hurts, Love Rescues campaign to highlight this shocking trend and the work we are doing to save so many animals from horrific abuse and suffering.”
The RSPCA has seen coercive control cases where the perpetrators use violence and threats of violence to manipulate their victims into staying in abusive relationships. In one such case reported to the RSPCA a kitten called Chester was left close to death after he was subjected to a series of attacks by a male during the summer of 2023 while his female partner was at work. The woman returned from work and found her three-month-old kitten hiding and terrified with a visible eye injury and in obvious pain. She rushed him to a vet and it was found Chester had a swollen jaw, neurological issues and an injured leg – injuries suggesting he had been attacked.
She said: ”At the time my partner was violent to me but when I saw him around Chester or any animals he always seemed really caring. When I found Chester injured I accepted my partner’s explanation that he had fallen and rushed him to a local vet. Following Chester’s examination the vet told me that they would have to contact the RSPCA due to the suspicious nature of his injuries and said I needed to look at my situation at home. That’s when things began to fall into place.
“I took Chester back home to recover but that evening an RSPCA inspector came to the house and said he needed to take him away for his own safety as they were worried he would die if he stayed, so I handed him over in shock. In hindsight the inspector turning up that evening saved Chester’s life.”
After realising her kitten had been a victim of violence the woman reached out to her mum and opened up to her about the domestic abuse she had been suffering from. Her mum supported her to seek the help she needed from the RSPCA and police and she was able to leave the relationship. She went on to testify in court against her partner who pleaded guilty to a number of animal welfare offences.
After the hearing she was reunited with Chester who had been place in foster care by the RSPCA where he made a full recovery from his injuries. He now lives back with his loving owner in the South West and three other cat friends and is enjoying life in his new home. The woman, who ended all contact with Chester’s abuser, added: “Chester has done so well and has no signs of any health issues and he is even good with visitors. He was a bit wary of men – which is understandable – but he is such a good boy and very loving.
“After what has happened I want to highlight coercive control and the links between domestic abuse and animal abuse. I don’t want other pets suffering and I want people to know that there is help out there and you can turn things around but you do need to speak out.”
The animal welfare charity has released the new statistics this week as part of its Cruelty Hurts Love Rescues fundraising campaign which coincides with the charity’s busiest time as cruelty reports peak over summer.
In response to fears of a rise in cases the RSPCA has launched a domestic abuse help page on its website – which is already seeing more than 1,000 visits every day, almost 50 an hour. The advice page offers special features to keep people safe including an exit button which quickly shuts down the page and takes the user to the Google homepage with no viewing history of the RSPCA page showing.
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