More than 1,200 reports of animals being intentionally harmed across Cambridgeshire over the last five years were received by the RSPCA.

The figures released on July 5 show there were 1,258 reports of deliberate cruelty to animals in the county.

The data comes as the charity launched its ‘Cancel Out Cruelty’ campaign, which aims to raise funds to keep its rescue teams saving animals and to raise awareness on how to eradicate cruelty.

“We always sadly see a rise in cruelty during the summer months,” Dermot Murphy, head of RSPCA animal rescue teams, said.

“As well as more people being out and about in the longer sunny days, seeing and reporting abuse, the hot summer days can lead to more people drinking alcohol in the sun.

“This can be a factor in causing violence.

“There could also be boredom during the long holidays and more pressures at home; when the whole family is on holiday from school and work, existing difficulties in the home can be magnified.”

Last July, the RSPCA dealt with 1,532 incidents through their emergency helpline and is expecting a similar spike this month.

The charity received 34,550 calls throughout July last year, compared to an average number of 25,072 calls a month in 2020.

With a rise in domestic violence during the Covid-19 lockdowns, Mr Murphy believes this could also have an effect on an increase in cruelty to animals.

“Police forces reported a rise in domestic violence last year and we are concerned that similar pressures which led to this rise may have impacted on more cruelty to animals during the pandemic,” he said.

“The past year has seen a reportedly huge rise in pet ownership and we know most people would not dream of harming an animal.

“We are concerned that as we come out of lockdown and people return to their jobs outside the home or suffer financial pressures, we will see more animals suffer if their owners find themselves unable to cope.”

Mr Murphy added: “We are urging people in Cambridgeshire to support our campaign so we can all work together to end cruelty towards animals.”

For more information on the campaign, visit: https://bit.ly/3hC2gv7 or to report animal cruelty, call the RSPCA hotline on 0300 1234 999.