Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people in Bolton were found guilty of animal cruelty in each of the last three years.
Answered by George Eustice
The number of offenders found guilty of offences under Sections 4 to 8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, in the Greater Manchester Police Force area, from 2014 to 2016, can be viewed in the table below:
Offenders found guilty of animal cruelty (1), Greater Manchester Police Force area, 2014 to 2016 (2)(3) | |||
Force | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
Greater Manchester | 38 | 23 | 29 |
of which | |||
Bolton Local Justice Area (4) | 4 | 2 | Nil |
Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.
1) Defined as SS4-8 Animal Welfare Act 2006.
2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
3) 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.
4) Separate recording for Bolton Local Justice Area ceased on 31 March 2016, subsequently all force results were recorded as Greater Manchester Local Justice Area.