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Pet owners in Merseyside are warned to be vigilant as data reveals the region is a "hotspot" for weapon attacks on animals.

The area had the third-highest number of attacks in England, with 36 occurrences between 2020 and 2023, according to the RSPCA animal welfare charity.

Across the nation, the number of cats shot with air guns, slingshots or crossbows more than doubled in the first six months of this year to 44, compared 18 in the same period in 2023.

RSPCA lead wildlife officer Geoff Edmond said: "These weapon attacks are horrific, but what we see is likely only the tip of the iceberg - and we are particularly concerned about the situation in areas like Merseyside."

Across England, there was also a 23% rise in the number of animals targeted by weapons, which stood at 370 in 2023.

Mr Edmond said: "What we deal with probably only represents a small part of a much wider problem, as not all cases will be reported to the RSPCA directly and there may be situations where animals injured and killed by these weapons are sadly never found - especially in the case of wildlife".

Between 2022 and 2023, the number of wild birds targeted by weapon attacks increased to 214, while attacks on dogs nearly tripled to 30 and rose to 32 for farm animals.

The RSPCA says it receives more reports of cruelty in the summer than other times of the year, as it launched its No Animal Deserves Cruelty Appeal to tackle the attacks.

They added that more police forces were "seeing worrying levels of weapons-related incidents" and were collaborating on a police-led partnership with the RSPCA over wildlife crimes.

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