Hedgehog shot by air pellet in Haverfordwest points to 'animal welfare crisis' says RSPCA
The RSPCA is bracing itself for 'an animal welfare crisis' after latest figures confirm that the number of animals that are being intentionally injured or killed by weapons in Pembrokeshire is on the increase.
To back their findings, the RSPCA has released a photograph of a hedgehog, found in Haverfordwest, with an air gun pellet lodged in its shoulder. As a result of the severity of its injury, the hedgehog had to be put to sleep.
There have been four similar attacks on animals in Pembrokeshire between 2020 and 2023, while the figure across Wales currently stands at 66. This represents a 23% year-on-year increase. Other animals that have been deliberately injured include barn owls and deer as well as domestic cats and dogs.
Now, as the figures continue to rise, RSPCA officers are bracing themselves for what they have described as 'an animal welfare crises'.
"Weapon attacks are horrific, but what we're seeing is likely to be just the tip of the iceberg," said RSPCA lead wildlife officer Geoff Edmond.
"It's unspeakably cruel and totally unacceptable to shoot animals, whether it's for fun or for target practice."
In 2021, Parliament passed the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act, which increased the maximum sentence for specific animal cruelty offences under the 2006 Act from six months tofive years' custody. The offences were also made either way, meaning they can be heard either in the magistrates' courts or the Crown Court.
Meanwhile the RSPCA has now launched its 'RSPCA No Animal Deserves Cruelty Appeal' because it receives more reports of cruelty during the summer months than at any other time of year.
Hedgehog shot by air pellet in Haverfordwest points to 'animal welfare crisis' says RSPCA
The RSPCA is bracing itself for 'an animal welfare crisis' after latest figures confirm that the number of animals that are being intentionally injured or killed by weapons in Pembrokeshire is on the increase.
To back their findings, the RSPCA has released a photograph of a hedgehog, found in Haverfordwest, with an air gun pellet lodged in its shoulder. As a result of the severity of its injury, the hedgehog had to be put to sleep.
There have been four similar attacks on animals in Pembrokeshire between 2020 and 2023, while the figure across Wales currently stands at 66. This represents a 23% year-on-year increase. Other animals that have been deliberately injured include barn owls and deer as well as domestic cats and dogs.
Now, as the figures continue to rise, RSPCA officers are bracing themselves for what they have described as 'an animal welfare crises'.
"Weapon attacks are horrific, but what we're seeing is likely to be just the tip of the iceberg," said RSPCA lead wildlife officer Geoff Edmond.
"It's unspeakably cruel and totally unacceptable to shoot animals, whether it's for fun or for target practice."
In 2021, Parliament passed the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act, which increased the maximum sentence for specific animal cruelty offences under the 2006 Act from six months to five years' custody. The offences were also made either way, meaning they can be heard either in the magistrates' courts or the Crown Court.
Meanwhile the RSPCA has now launched its 'RSPCA No Animal Deserves Cruelty Appeal' because it receives more reports of cruelty during the summer months than at any other time of year.