PROSECUTIONS for animal cruelty in Wales have hit a three-year high according to figures released by RSPCA Cymru - with more than 2,000 complaints of cruelty investigated in Gwent last year.

The animal charity investigated a total of 10,540 complaints of cruelty across Wales in 2016, the equivalent of nearly 29 a day.

Caerphilly county borough had the highest number of reported incidents in Gwent with 583.

Second was Newport with 555 complaints, while Torfaen had 336, Blaenau Gwent 328, and Monmouthshire 218.

In terms of convictions, a total of 120 were secured in magistrates’ courts across Wales - compared to 89 in 2015, and 116 in 2014.

Sixty-one people were guilty of the offences, again the highest number in Wales over the three-year period.

One such case saw Cwmbran couple Graham Hoy, 35, and Elisa Vaux, 26, banned from keeping dogs.

They had allowed four husky dogs - named Cloud, Diesel, Delta and Asher - to become “the thinnest” an RSPCA inspector said they had ever seen.

A further 67 offenders were also cautioned by the charity in 2016.

Martyn Hubbard, RSPCA Cymru superintendent, admitted that despite it being a “busy” year for prosecutions, challenges still remained in protecting Welsh animals.

“Each and every year, I am left deeply saddened and appalled at the level of animal abuse, neglect and cruelty we witness all across Wales,” he said.

“Once again, 2016 highlighted the huge importance of the frontline work of RSPCA, with a series of very diverse convictions secured in court, concerning a catalogue of cruelty.

“It was a busy year in terms of necessary prosecutions activity - with more convictions secured than in the previous two calendar years.”

He added: “This doesn’t suggest more cruelty is necessarily taking place - but that people in Wales are potentially more likely to report it, and tools like social media becoming more adept in bringing incidences to light.”

RSPCA Cymru is now urging for public support for the introduction of an Offender Register for those who have been convicted of animal abuse and disqualified from keeping them.

Of 1,100 adults surveyed by in a YouGov poll in January, 88 per cent were in favour of backing the proposal.

The publication of the new statistics follows calls from the charity to increase the six-month maximum sentence available in England and Wales for animal abuse. The maximum sentence in Northern Ireland is ten times higher - standing at five years.

Since 2013 in Wales, the RSPCA has prosecuted 11 individuals for breaching their disqualification from owning and keeping animals under Section 34 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

RSPCA Cymru’s assistant director of external relations, Claire Lawson, added: “We again saw a number of animal abusers hit with disqualification orders from owning animals in the future but it’s so hard for rehoming centres, pet shops and others to stop people breaching these bans. Almost nine in ten people in Wales support the introduction of a register, which would be a critical step forward in keeping animals safe and helping us to tackle some of the horrendous cruelty witnessed.”