There is no specific offence for torture of animals.
However, information on the number of defendants prosecuted for animal cruelty in England and Wales for the years 2001 to 2005 can be viewed in the following table.
Detailed information on court proceedings for 2006 will be published in the autumn of 2007.
Prosecuted 2001 975 2002 1,006 2003 999 2004 984 2005 1,061 1 These data are on the principal offence basis. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 Statute is as follows: Protection of Animals Act 1911. 4 Source: Court proceedings database—Office for Criminal Justice Reform Source: RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice