This is awful, it makes me sick, these people should have punishment...FAR worse then they're getting. This is awful, it's just like killing a person, yet the punishment is lower. This is so heart breaking and shamefull.

Lauren, Tully, United States

The prison sentence for people who abuse animals is way too low. I was appalled to read cases where people had killed their pet and got as little as 3-9 months imprisonment or simply banned from keeping pets. It should be years imprisonment, not months. Is there a campaign to change the law?

Teresa, Bristol, England

This is heartbreaking & shameful. There is no excuse for people to mistreat animals, it is absolutely sickening & distressing.

Heath, Surrey,

this makes me feel sick!

how anyone can torture a dog is beyond me! they are the most loyal pet you could find!

ben, trout, england

It always amazes me how people can hurt animals in this way! Animals are so trusting of humans, they just don't understand they are being abused and have to stay and take it. I'd certainly happily pay a £100 license a year to enable me to keep my dog and to stop these people owning animals.

Lindsay, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

Reintroduce licences for all animals. Licenses only to be released after attending three to five pre-ownership classes on animal welfare and then heavily fine/imprison those who treat animals cruelly. Then put the perpetrators photo, name and address in the local papers. This will allow retribution.

Kevin, Ferrara, Italy

Print the offenders photo, name and address and crime committed in the papers and then you'd really see what people thought and animal cruelty. But of course you couldn't do that to the poor loves lest someone really taught them not to mistreat animals ever again. That might justice .

Kevin, Ferrara, Italy

Absolutely criminal. People cannot afford the vets bills to have their animals properly attended to. A direct result of the immoral greed culture that has proliferated under a Labour government. Labour have no idea how much suffering they have really caused.

judy, Liverpool, England

Since when did the RSPCA become an enforcement arm of the state?

Gavin, London, GB

To Kirk:
I think your idea is counterproductive since having a lot of money does not mean being an animal friendly person.
Children have to be taught to respect, admire and love all the creatures around them. Only then will they be able to behave responsibly towards them all their lives.

Elga, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany

They should never has stopped haveing the Dog licenses in the first place. I would gladly pay for my dog annually if it meant you could stop idiots being allowed to own an animal they have no real interest in being responsible for.

Kersty, Leeds,

It breaks my heart to think of what goes on behind closed doors to innocent animals, I believe much stricter laws as to who can have a pet should be impossed, people should be veted and made to have a licence of some sort, checks to make sure people get their pets nuetured
Muriel Smith. Beds.

Muriel Smith, Houghton Regis, UK

This does not necessarily show any increase in cruelty. There is also the possibility that the RSPCA are simply launching more prosecutions, the proof is quite easy, so more are successful. These stories do however help fill the coffers of a very rich charity, which is why they like to prosecute.

Sam Marcos, Brighton, UK

My cat came from the Cats Protection League when she was just 5 months old: she'd been dumped because she had fleas. She's now 11 years old, gorgeous and I love her to bits. If anyone dared to harm her I'd kill them. I can't understand how anyone could harm a creature who can't fight back.

Ishkhara, Edinburgh, Scotland

I agree with Jack Perry. Naming and shaming is well worth a try.

Bill Harding, York,

So distressing to read the article. It's really not enough to imprison someone for killing an animal... It should have the same severity attached to it as murder. We have to have some form of discipline here... either a passport for the animal or a licence for the owner or breeder is the only way.

John Warren, Moscow, Russia

Susanne..

We used to have dog licences in England. I'm not sure why they were scrapped but they should be brought back with a long list of criteria to be met if you are allowed to keep one. I can't understand the mentality of someone who would harm a defenceless animal.

Lisa, London,

We need to clamp down on youths with trophy dogs. Two young guys were selling new born baby staffs in my local corner shop last weekend... Appalling. Puppies that are mistreated, certainly won't have been vaccinated and will probably end up in a home with equally irresponsible owners.

Lara, Streatham Hill, London

I was disgusted in reading this I cant understand why people would do them type of things to innocent creatures!! At the end of the day if you havnt got the time, resources or more importantly the humane nature to care for an animal dont get one! All creatures deserve a loving caring home!!!!

Natalie Burton, Gateshead, England

My last six dogs have all been rescued animals from Dogs Trust. They can take a lot of settling down but are worth all the effort. Perhaps if fines were increased and people were named and shamed they might develop a conscience?

Jacky Perry, Herne, UK

It's about time that a new type of dog licence (animal licence) was brought in. Make it £100 a year that way the animal population will rapidly drop. It will pay for more dog wardens , pick up stray animals and fine those whose animals are out of control and foul. Simple.

kirk, Rotherham, UK

This is utterly disgraceful how these people can treat their animals so badly! they should be treated in the same way to see how they like it!
animals rely and depend on their owners to look after them not hurt them how can they possible justify this sort of treatment.

k jenkins, essex,

It doesn't help that the punishments dealt are tame compared to the crime. Banning someone from keeping an animal hardly strikes fear - does it? Abishai Hayes only got 9 months, but that was probably only due to threatening the arresting officers with the knife he used to attack his dog.

Stuart, London,

Not just England, here in the US too - I recently got a pure bred 18 month old female German Shepherd from the Humane Society. She had been turned in by her previous owners who didn't want her any more.

She's spoiled rotten and doing fine - a new home, a new name, & sleeps on the bed too.

Tim, Atlanta, GA, USA

What prevents the government from introducing a license for having dogs, one per animal? Because of the rise in cruelty to animals, other countries, e.g. Denmark who doesn't even have an equivalent to RSPCA, are now seriously considering this solution. Shouldn't we be the first or what does it take?

Susanne Meredith, Cambridgeshire, UK