The size of cages holding beagles awaiting experiments could be reduced under new Government proposals, animal welfare campaigners warned yesterday.

There has been some grim footage on our screens recently. Piglets have been clubbed and maltreated. Dogs have stared miserably at the camera. More examples of human cruelty are doubtless on their way. The RSPCA has announced that today marks the start of RSPCA Week. There is a growing crisis in animal welfare, the charity said in its appeal for funds. Last year, it received 1.3 million calls, an increase of 13 per cent on 2010. A total of 3,036 people were reported to its prosecutions department. In the courts, 1,341 people were convicted of cruelty, almost a quarter more than 2010.

A huge rise in the number of pet owners convicted of animal cruelty is pushing the RSPCA to “breaking point”, the charity said.

Millions of dog owners will have to pay for their pets to be fitted with a microchip, under plans set to be announced next week.

A couple with five children who kept 56 large dogs in their four-bedroom house have been banned from keeping animals for eight years.

The RSPCA warned today that it will have to shed more than 130 jobs in the face of rising costs and increasing numbers of animals being abandoned during the economic downturn.

A farmer who was being investigated over allegations of cruelty to pigs has been found dead at his home.

Animal welfare and wildlife groups say the badger culls are unscientific and inhumane

Animal welfare groups threaten legal action after the Government's broken promise

A man handed himself in to a police station today after CCTV cameras caught a cat being swung by its tail.

The RSPCA has called for better measures to warn pet owners of the dangers posed by algae after the death of a dog which is thought to have swallowed the organisms while swimming in Lake Windermere.

Show you care about animal welfare by voting for the RSPCA People’s Choice Award, which recognises supermarkets championing animal welfare issues.

The Government has announced controversial plans to introduce a major badger cull in England to tackle TB in cattle.

Almost 27,000 have signed The Independent’s online petition calling for the Government to ban wild animals in circuses, pushing it within a few thousand of its target.