A dead French bulldog was found wrapped in a bed cover and laundry bag in a Nottingham park, the RSPCA has revealed.
The shocking story comes as the charity told how reports of animal cruelty had increased over the last year, from 203 in 2021 to 285 in 2022.
The body of the French bulldog was found on Monday, May 29, close to a cafe in Colwick Woods Park, in a shallow hole. Not much attempt had been made to cover it, with most of the dog's body still being above ground.
Although there were no signs of injuries or cause of death, the RSPCA was keen to find out how the dog came to be left in such a suspicious way.
Do you think the death penalty should be brought back in the UK? Let us know
The dog was found to be microchipped, but this was to an Italian database. With more people reporting cruelty to animals from July to September, the charity is expecting a busy summer ahead. It is not known why reports of animal cruelty increase over the summer months, but one factor could be animal abuse being more visible as people spend more times outdoors.
The RSPCA is the only charity rescuing animals and investigating cruelty in England and Wales, and in 2022 there was a daily average of 26 reports of beating across the UK. During the month of August, more than 1,000 reports were received, averaging at 35 a day across the UK.
The charity has a team of frontline rescue officers, specialist vet teams and a network of animal care centres to help animals across the UK. Similarly, the number of animals killed in suspicious circumstanced increased by 15 per cent in 2022.
Rebecca Lowe, RSPCA chief inspector for Nottinghamshire, said: “Right now, animal cruelty is happening in England and Wales on a massive scale and rising - and sadly the number of cruelty incidents in Nottinghamshire is also too high. It is heartbreaking that we are seeing figures which show animal cruelty is, very sadly, on the rise.
“While we don’t know for certain why there has been an increase in reports of cruelty, the cost of living crisis and the post-pandemic world we live in has created an animal welfare crisis with more people getting pets with potentially less time and money to care for them."
She added: "Each year, these reports of cruelty reach their terrible annual peak in the summer months – when nationally we receive a report of an animal being beaten on average every hour of every day.
“The cost-of-living crisis also means the cost of rescuing animals is at an all-time high and our vital services are stretched to the limit.”
