NORTH Yorkshire was the second highest place in England and Wales for animal cruelty convictions last year, according to new figures.

There were 50 people convicted for cruelty to animals in North Yorkshire in 2016, compared to 27 the year before. In East Yorkshire there were 22 convictions, with 13 in 2015.

The new figures, released by the RSPCA, show West Yorkshire topped the table again.

Among the convictions in North Yorkshire was the case of ‘Baby’ the bulldog who was filmed on a mobile phone repeatedly thrown down a flight of stairs, stamped on and headbutted. Two men from Redcar were disqualified from keeping animals for life and given suspended prison sentences after being prosecuted by the RSPCA.

Sadly, Baby was put to sleep a few months after the incident, long before the RSPCA knew anything about her and what she went through.

Dermot Murphy, assistant director of the RSPCA Inspectorate, said: “It never fails to shock me when I look back on the extreme instances of animal cruelty the RSPCA has been called upon to investigate.

“It continues to outrage and sadden me that people can be capable of such deliberate brutality towards animals, but equally it drives me on to ensure that perpetrators of animal cruelty are put before the courts.

“I believe that the figures from last year show that we’re not becoming crueler, but that people are simply less willing to stand by and do nothing if they think an animal is suffering.

“In the North Yorkshire case involving Baby the bulldog, an SD card was found on the floor of a supermarket and handed into police by someone who recognised the men on it."