'Most animal abuse calls made in summer - back our Cancel Out Cruelty campaign'

The Mirror has joined forces with the RSPCA to back its new campaign, Cancel Out Cruelty, to reduce horrendous incidents against pets by 50% by 2030.

It also hopes to raise more funds to help keep the charity's rescuers on the frontline saving animals from the worst cruelty and neglect.

Here, RSPCA Chief Executive Chris Sherwood explains why the campaign was necessary and how it will protect animals such as Max, above.

Our frontline rescue teams are sadly all too used to dealing with heart-breaking cruelty such as kittens beaten and abused, dogs drowned and wildlife shot or set on fire, but every summer we see calls to our hotline rise even further.

RSPCA Chief Executive Chris Sherwood says hotline calls always rise in the summer (RSPCA)

Whether it’s more people out and about reporting cruelty, the consequences of daytime drinking or perhaps the boredom and stresses of family life amplified by the long holidays, during these months we see more calls and more pressure on our teams to get to animals in desperate need.

This is why we have launched our Cancel Out Cruelty campaign this summer.

Most of us can’t imagine hurting an animal and many of us have a renewed appreciation for our pets and the wildlife around us after the great comfort they brought during the pandemic.

But there are those who just don’t believe that animals deserve compassion and respect.

A poll of our frontline rescue officers found that 73% of them felt that people committed cruelty because they don’t believe animals are sentient beings.

This is so wrong, animals have emotions, feelings and needs.

This is why education is key to preventing cruelty in the future - we need to make sure children grow up understanding animals’ needs and how to properly care for them.

This is why we believe that teaching animal welfare in schools is vital to growing a new generation which is kinder to animals and we are proud to be joining forces with The Daily Mirror to stop cruelty to animals.

Our campaign demands:

• Protect animals from brutal acts of cruelty at the hands of humans
• End pets being given away as prizes
• Animal welfare classes to be included in school curriculum