THE RSPCA received more than 700 calls reporting deliberate animal cruelty in Cheshire over the last three years, new figures show.

The RSPCA said it is a ‘sad reality’ that the charity deals with animal cruelty on a daily basis.

The figures come in the wake of the high-profile case of West Ham United footballer Kurt Zouma, who was prosecuted after a video of him kicking his cat went viral on social media.

In June, Zouma was sentenced to 180 hours of community service and was banned from owning a cat for five years after pleading guilty to two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

RSPCA figures show there were 202 calls to its helpline for reporting intentional harm to an animal in Cheshire last year – down from 213 in 2020.

There were 326 calls over deliberate cruelty in 2019, meaning there have been a total of 741 in the last three years alone.

Intentional harm incidents involve attempted or improper killings, beatings, poisonings, mutilations and injuries or deaths in suspicious circumstances.

Across England, 35,379 calls were made reporting intentional harm over the last three years.

Dermot Murphy, RSPCA chief inspectorate officer, said: "It is a sad reality that we deal with animal cruelty every day here at the RSPCA.

"We are a nation of animal lovers, yet we received more than 11,000 complaints of intentional harm through our helpline last year reporting animals from cats, dogs, hedgehogs and everything in between who have sadly been victims of deliberate cruelty.

"We need your help to keep our frontline officers out on the road saving animals and to help us raise awareness that this cruelty is never acceptable."

The RSPCA is concerned the rise in pet ownership during the coronavirus pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis could lead to a rise in animal cruelty incidents in the future.

The charity received more than one million calls reporting all types of cruelty in 2021, with more than 1,000 killings and almost 8,000 beatings reported.

Meanwhile, more than 38,000 animal abandonments were recorded last year.

"These figures are shocking and deeply upsetting and show why we need your help to save those animals who need us the most now more than ever," Mr Murphy said.