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Lethal weapons including crossbows, air guns, catapults and slingshots are being used to deliberately target and kill wildlife and pets in West Yorkshire, new data from the RSPCA reveals.

The animal charity has unveiled new figures relating to deadly weapons used on animals over the past four years – with West Yorkshire being named as one of the most prominent regions for attacks.

Since the beginning of 2020 (up to May 2023), the RSPCA received 808 reports relating to animals being intentionally harmed with a weapon throughout England.

Air guns and rifles were responsible for the bulk of the incidents, with 658 reports made to the charity with weapons such as catapults and slingshots accounted for a combined 124 incidents.

Data released by the RSPCA has named West Yorkshire as a hotspot for animal attacks with a weapon.

There were also 34 calls to the RSPCA about crossbow incidents.

The region fell behind Kent (56 reports), Greater London (47) and Merseyside (35) with 30 reported incidents over the past four years making it the area with the fourth highest reports nationally.

The RSPCA released the figures as part of its Cancel Out Cruelty campaign, in a bid to raise funds to help its frontline rescue teams continue to save animals from cruelty and abuse - like deadly weapon attacks.

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A horrifying crossbow attack on a squirrel being is one of the most recent attacks dealt with by the RSPCA.

RSPCA national wildlife coordinator, Geoff Edmond. said: “It is unspeakably cruel, totally unacceptable and illegal to shoot animals for ‘fun’ - or as target practice, but sadly our emergency line is receiving hundreds of reports.

“We think of ourselves as a nation of animal lovers, but the RSPCA’s experience shows that there are people out there who are deliberately targeting wildlife, pets and farm animals with guns, catapults and crossbows. These weapons cause horrific pain and suffering.

“Day after day, our frontline officers and animal centres see the sickening consequences of weapons being used on animals - severe injuries often leading to death.

"And what we deal with is probably only the tip of the iceberg 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.

"This is why we need our supporters to back our Cancel Out Cruelty campaign so we can tackle this horrific trend.”

West Yorkshire named as a hotspot for animal attacks with a weapon by RSPCA