Reports of animal abuse on social media have doubled in the past year

The RSPCA survey showed that more than 11 million people have viewed animal cruelty online

The RSPCA has seen the number of reports about animal cruelty posted on social media nearly double compared to the previous year as it highlights the alarming increase as part of the abolition of cruelty Campaign.

And the charity’s figures, released today, show that there are 756 Reports of animal abuse on social media last year (2021) compared to 431 in 2020 and just 157 in 2019. The RSPCA scored an average 63 reports of cruelty on social media per month last year, compared to just 35 months during the previous year.

Dermot Murphy, RSPCA’s Chief Inspection Officer, said: “It is deeply concerning that we are seeing more reports of animal abuse being spread on social media for admiration and notoriety.

Often accompanied by laughing emojis or silly comments, these videos normalize – and even reduce – animal cruelty.

“It is alarming that people who do not usually see animal cruelty are exposed to it online. Not only can it encourage other people to do the same, it is creating a society that is insensitive to some of the most appalling acts of animal cruelty which is a step backwards For us as a nation of animal lovers.”

The RSPCA has released its groundbreaking editorial report in partnership with the Scottish SPCA – The Kindness index with animal* – which looks at the nation’s attitude towards animals.

The report revealed that a fifth of people (22%) have witnessed animal cruelty online in the past 12 months, which equates to 11.5 million** people in the UK.

On social media, almost half experienced abuse on Facebook (46%) followed by YouTube and Twitter (20%), 11% on TikTok, 10% on Instagram, 5% on Reddit, 4% on WhatsApp and 2% on Snapchat.

Of the reports sent to the RSPCA, 62% were posted on Facebook and 20% were posted on Instagram with only 3.2% posted on Snapchat.

The RSPCA and Scottish SPCA have also called on the government to include animal welfare as part of an online safety bill that aims to increase safety and tackle illegal content online. The government has not yet included animal cruelty content within the scope of the bill despite figures showing the large numbers of people witnessing such cruelty online.

The charity’s Special Operations unit is working to trace these social media videos and find who is responsible for bringing them to justice.

These include:

• Last month, a high-profile case of a soccer player kicking and slapping his cat was captured on video and uploaded to Snapchat (In the picture above), and sentenced two men. The RSPCA launched an investigation after a video posted on Snapchat in February showed a man chasing a cat around a house, kicking and slapping it. Later, police captured two cats and they were taken for examination by a vet before being taken to the care of the RSPCA for rehoming.
• The RSPCA was investigated after a video was posted on Twitter of a man seen kicking a cat who had a lead. The accident was captured with a vertical camera by a cyclist on his way back from work on a quiet bike path off Newport’s South Distributor, approaching the City Bridge, in January. In the photos, the cat – which the witness described as a large Bengal breed with striped markings – is lying on the ground and is seen being kicked by the man, who is wearing a dark-colored T-shirt and jeans.
• The charity looked at a video that saw a milkman kick a hedgehog at Long Melford in Suffolk. The incident was captured by someone’s doorbell camera and then posted on Facebook and shared.
• The RSPCA has been investigated after a teen allegedly threw a punch at his parents while filming them on a mobile phone for uploading to social media. A member of the public contacted RSPCA After they spotted a teenager throwing a bird at his parents in Clapham Common, London, in the pond near the Windmill pub. The witness described a young teenager who was seen throwing a chick at the parents and then pretending to “box” with two Canadian gooseberries who had gotten very upset trying to protect their young. A teenage girl was also seen filming the incident on their phones. The chick, who was only a few days old, sustained a leg injury after the attack and was then struggling to swim. Fortunately, the baby goose was rescued and rehabilitated by the RSPCA at a nearby wildlife hospital.

Tess Macpherson Woods, Director of Social Media at the RSPCA, said: “Managing RSPCA accounts on social media is very rewarding and heartbreaking. We’ve sent out a huge amount of annoying content and graphics, but only our National Cruelty Line can assign jobs to inspectors, so all we can do is give advice and encourage people to contact them.

“We have been able to track down animal abusers by sharing pleas for information on social media and that is the best feeling. While a poor animal suffers, knowing that you are part of a team that will do everything in their power to save and rehabilitate them and seek justice for them makes the annoying part of the work deserve efforts “.

The RSPCA receives about 90,000 calls to the Cruelty Line each month and investigates 6,000 reports of intentional cruelty to animals, including animal fighting and hunting. But in the summer, *** calls go up to 134,000 calls a month – three calls every minute and cruelty reports go up to 7,600 every month – (a) Heart breaks 245 every day.

This is why the charity launched abolition of cruelty To raise funds to help rescue teams on the front lines continue to rescue animals in need and to raise awareness about how to stop cruelty to animals for good.

• £2 can help provide a meal for a cat or dog in our care
• £6 to feed a dog for a day can help in our care
• £10 can help pay for a cat or dog bandages
• £15 can help pay for the clinical examination fee of a cat or dog
• £20 can help pay for a hunting kit
• £30 can help pay for an inspector’s life jacket
• £100 can help pay for water saving equipment
• 500 pounds can equip 4×4 . inspection truck

Our frontline teams are working hard to save animals in need this summer but we can’t do it alone – we need your help abolition of cruelty. To help support the RSPCA, visit: www.rspca.org.uk/stopcruelty

If you can’t donate, there are other ways you can help abolish cruelty, from Volunteering with the RSPCAcontract for the sale of baked goods or fundraising, or participation in # 50MilesForAnimals a challenge.

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