Animal cruelty prosecutions are rising but remain well below pre-pandemic levels - as offenders face up to five years in prison under new sentencing guidelines.
Prosecutions for animal cruelty are rising in Merseyside - as offenders face tougher penalties for harming pets and other creatures.
In 2021, 33 cases were brought against people in Merseyside over accusations of cruelty to animals, and 25 resulted in a conviction.
That is up from 12 prosecutions and eight convictions the previous year, and from 2019, the year before the coronavirus pandemic, when there were 29 prosecutions and 25 convictions.
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As a result of convictions last year a total of 25 separate sentences were handed out, including four immediate prison sentences, six suspended sentences, six fines, and one compensation order.
In May this year, the ECHO reported that a man had been banned from keeping animals for life. And a woman, who left her cats and dogs alone with no food for so long that one of them died and was eaten by the remaining starving animals, was handed a six month jail term suspended for a year and banned for keeping animals for twelve years. She was also orrdered to pay a £200 fine, £400 in court costs and £447 in RSPCA medical costs.
Across all of England and Wales, there were 738 prosecutions of animal cruelty offences and 536 convictions last year, up from 537 prosecutions and 398 convictions in 2020.
But that was far below the pre-pandemic figure of 1,017 prosecutions and 800 convictions.
The reduced numbers of prosecutions over the last two years are likely to be at least partly caused by court delays as a result of the pandemic.
However, charities have raised fears that coronavirus restrictions - including lockdowns and the forced isolation of individual households - may have hidden much of the offending.
It comes after the maximum sentence for animal cruelty offences was raised from six months to five years, from the end of June 2021.
The courts could issue the new maximum sentences in cases involving dog fighting, abuse of puppies and kittens, illegally cropping a dog’s ears and gross neglect of farm animals.
As well as a prison sentence, offenders can receive an unlimited fine.
But the new tougher prison sentences have not yet been reflected in Ministry of Justice figures.
In fact, average sentences handed to the most serious offenders deemed deserving of immediate prison have fallen slightly over the last three years.
The average prison term handed out by the courts was 3.9 months in 2019. That fell to 3.8 months in 2020, and again to 3.7 months last year.
Meanwhile, average fines handed out by the courts have increased from £255 in 2019 to £407 last year.
* To report incidents of animal cruelty and concerns call the public can call the RSPCA cruelty line on 0300 1234 999. The public can also check out the information about animal cruelty on the RSPCA website at https://www.rspca.org.uk/utilities/contactus/reportcruelty before making a call.
