March 26, 2019 5.30 pm This story is over 60 months old

Horrific dog drowning sparks calls for tougher punishments

A leading animal charity is calling for sentences to be increased from six months to five years
Photo: Battersea

A leading animal welfare charity is calling for tougher sentencing after a dog was pulled out of a river with bricks tied to its neck.

Reports and horrifying images published on Lincolnshire Reporter and other media outlets prompted Battersea Dogs & Cats Home to call for sentences to be increased from six months to five years.

As previously reported, the disturbing discovered was made by a local fisherman in Spalding.

Warning: Image in full below:

The Spaldinium Facebook page posted about the discovery on Sunday, March 24.

The appeal prompted nearly 3,000 comments, where people called for the people or person responsible to be punished.

Battersea’s dog law expert Trevor Cooper said: “It’s awful to think of the fear and pain this poor dog must have suffered, and the mindset that leads to this kind of cruelty.

“Yet, even if the perpetrator is caught, the most they can get for this crime is six months in jail. This case shows exactly why the maximum prison sentence for animal cruelty needs to be raised from six months to five years.”

Police are hunting for the killer. Photo: Spaldinium

The Government first pledged to increase sentences for animal cruelty from six months to five years at the Conservative conference in 2017.

Environmental Secretary Michael Gove launched a draft Bill to bring about this change when he visited Battersea in December 2017.

“We’re a nation of animal lovers and it’s time that our laws reflected this,” Trevor Cooper continued. “Animals don’t have a voice of their own, so we must speak for them. We need to send a clear message that animal cruelty will not be tolerated in the UK.”

Anyone with any information about the incident is being urged to contact the police on 101 or the RSPCA.