Last updated 13:35, Monday, 06 October 2008

The News & Star today reveals the true shocking brutality of sick thugs who have tortured or killed dozens of family pets and animals in Cumbria.

• Photos: attacked animals and their injuries

Ozzy the cat with the trident clearly visible

Figures obtained from police files show officers have been called out to investigate attacks on at least 40 cats, dogs, farm animals and even fish in the last year – with about half of the crimes ending in death.

The information also reveals the lengths callous yobs went to when targeting animals.

Most of the attacks were carried out in Carlisle, with air guns the weapon of choice in more than two thirds of the cases.

But the details, revealed under the Freedom Of Information Act, also show thugs often resorted to brute force, in some cases stamping and kicking pets to death.

Cumbria is near the bottom of the cruelty statistics chart nationally, with 12 convictions last year.

But the RSPCA has previously pointed out that this is no cause for celebration as many more horrendous crimes are going unreported.

One of the most horrific attacks of the previous year happened when sick thugs carved a “devil’s fork”-style trident into the head of a family pet last October.

Owner Gillian Armstrong was shocked when her cat Ozzy, then aged nine, returned to her home in Harraby, Carlisle, “caked in blood”.

His injuries on that occasion were horrifying enough.

But after being treated by a vet and while he was recovering, Ozzy endured another horrendous ordeal when yobs grabbed him again.

Using what is believed to have been a blade, they re-traced the trident outline, cutting through nearly to the bone and narrowly missing the cat’s eye.

Now, nearly one year on, Ozzy’s fur has grown back to cover the physical scars but the once-adventurous animal no longer goes out of the family house.

Nobody has ever been charged in connection with the attacks.

“It was awful,” said Mrs Armstrong. “They didn’t just get him once, they got him the following week and it was even worse.

“They had just about scalped him. I could see his skull. I don’t know how he managed to pull through that one. It is a wonder it didn’t kill him.

“It was absolutely horrifying. The RSPCA said they had never heard of anything like it.

“It is sick that supposedly human beings can actually do something like that. I’m frightened they might hurt kids or people next.

“I’ve never seen anything as pitiful in all my life as when we took him through to the vets.”

Nationally, the number of convictions for cruelty has risen by 23 per cent.

But the RSPCA stresses that the figures do not necessarily mean cruelty itself is increasing.

It says attacks or neglect may always have been going on but had previously remained unreported, undetected or even legal.

The organisation said that before recent laws came into force it was actually lawful to neglect an animal’s needs to “quite a large extent”.

In the past, if animals had suffered enough for the law to intervene, they were sometimes in such poor condition that they did not survive.

Sophie Corless, RSPCA spokeswoman for Cumbria, spelled out the problems the organisation faces nationally.

“Day-in, day-out, RSPCA inspectors deal with scores of animals that have been beaten, kicked, tortured, neglected, left to starve to death or turned out onto the streets to fend for themselves,” she said.

“Sadly there exists a percentage of people who think it is acceptable to beat, kick, kill, starve or neglect an animal.

“These are the people that we are trying to re-educate and, if necessary, prosecute.

“Nonetheless it is worth remembering that there are millions of responsible pet owners who look after their pets appropriately.

“There is certainly no template into which people who perpetrate animal cruelty fit.

“Ignorance tends to be the prevailing factor in these cases, regardless of people’s age, social status or background.”

A police spokesman said: “Cumbria police are aware of the crimes committed against animals across the county and take this sort of crime very seriously.

“We work closely with a number of external partners such as the RSPCA and work hard to pursue prosecutions.

“We take an active, intelligence-led approach to the prevention of these crimes and would appeal to the public to report any instances of suspicious activity to officers.”

Anyone with information about animal attacks can phone police on 0845 3300247 or the RSPCA’s cruelty line on 0300 1234 999.