Yesterday The RSPCA said that 2014 has been one of the worst years ever for animal cruelty in Nottinghamshire. News editor Jade Beecroft was disgusted by the findings.
ONE of the older boys at my primary school liked to pull the wings off daddy long legs.
Despite it being nearly 30 years ago I can still vividly remember him lining the maimed insects along a windowsill and then watching them crawl helplessly, no longer able to fly. Seeing him in action as a frightened little girl made me feel physically sick and the memory still turns my stomach now.
Who knows whether that boy grew up to be a kind man – or whether he is now one of those who kicks his dog when angry. But what we do know is that animal cruelty is on the rise in Nottingham, with the number of owners prosecuted for killing their own pets doubling in the past year and daily reports to the RSPCA of animals being deliberately neglected.
In my opinion, abusing animals is one of the worst acts of cruelty a person can commit. I can't think of anything more cowardly than being violent towards a being who is utterly helpless, totally reliant on its owner, unable to speak for itself or understand why it is being attacked.
What kind of sicko punches a puppy or shoots a cat? They must have black rotten hearts.
Then there are the owners who neglect their pets, leaving them without food or water. When these people are brought to court they tend to plead their life circumstances as mitigation, telling the judge they were going through a rough patch, a relationship breakdown or job loss.
These pathetic excuses disgust me. There can never be reason for willfully leaving a creature who is totally dependent on you to prolonged suffering because life isn't going your way.
As a horse rider I had it drilled into me from being a little girl that good horsemanship meant putting your animal's needs before your own. No matter how wet, cold or tired you were after a ride, you always made sure your pony was comfortable and fed before you considered yourself.
I was horrified to see the pictures that came into newsdesk last week of five dead horses dumped in the road in East Leake. And I was also sickened by our report yesterday of a rabbit being left in its hutch with two broken legs because its owner didn't want to take it to the vet.
I have a pet rabbit (among other animals). He is toilet-trained, lives in the house and spends a lot of his time contentedly stretched out on my sofa. Rabbits have lively, inquisitive personalities and make wonderful companions. The idea that people keep them in tiny wooden boxes at the bottom of the garden, with no room to take more than a couple of hops, fills me with anger. Their loneliness and boredom must be unbearable.
So if you make one new year's resolution this week, let it be to look after your pets and give them the best quality of life you possibly can.
