RSPCA investigated nearly 3,000 cases of animal cruelty in Tyne and Wear in 2017

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Animal cruelty complaints investigated in the North of England were amongst the highest in the country with almost 3,000 cases investigated in Tyne and Wear by the RSPCA in 2017.

The data released today comes as part of the RSPCA’s North Cruelty statistics 2018 and revealed 2,964 complaints were investigated in 2017 by the RSPCA in Tyne and Wear.

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Whilst 141,760 complaints about animal welfare were investigated nationally by the animal welfare charity in 2017, in the north of England (including County Durham, Cumbria, East Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear and West Yorkshire) a total of 41,023 complaints were looked into.

Amongst those neglected and abused was Basil, a bichon frise, who was rescued by the RSPCA after being left ungrooomed for so long he couldn’t walk because of matted fur and his eyes were red raw from where the knots had pulled so tightly.

RSPCA inspector Helen Bestwick rescued Basil in May 2017. She said: “It took over two hours to dematt Basil, he was in a terrible state.”

“His eye was matted to his ear and nose. It was pulling so tight that all of his skin was red raw and sore.

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“His feet were so matted that it looked like he was wearing little boots and he could barely walk.

“After we’d dematted him and shaved his coat he was clearly so much more comfortable. He was running around like a pup and was very happy to be free of the matting that had caused him so much discomfort and pain. It was probably the first time he’d properly been able to move for months.”

RSPCA officers attended Basil’s home more than 20 times before getting an opportunity to see him and remove him.

His previous owner admitted causing unnecessary suffering by failing to ensure he was properly groomed. At a hearing at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court in November she was disqualified from keeping dogs for 10 years; sentenced to a 12-month community order with rehabilitation requirement and ordered to pay £200 costs and an £85 victim surcharge.

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Unfortunately despite making an excellent recovery, Basil was later put to sleep after vets discovered an aggressive tumour in his throat.

If you are concerned about an animal’s welfare, you can report it to the RSPCA cruelty line on 0300 1234 999.