AN ANIMAL charity rescued hundreds of animals across Flintshire and Wrexham last year.

According to its Annual Summary release of data, RSPCA Cymru officers rescued more than 8,000 animals in 2018 across Wales – amounting on average to 22 animals a day.

In Flintshire alone, 535 animals were rescued, compared to 388 in Wrexham.

A wide range of species were rescued from across the country, including 3,677 wild birds and 1,514 cats.

The RSPCA inspectorate in Wales also investigated 10,856 complaints of cruelty over the year and the number of animal owners who were offered, and accepted welfare advice was 5,940.

Martyn Hubbard, RSPCA Cymru superintendent, said: “These statistics show once again the diverse, scale and impact our officers, animal centres, clinics and branches across Wales have towards helping and protecting animals.

“Our inspectorate is on the frontline around the clock, while RSPCA branches across Wales work above and beyond in their communities to go the extra mile for animal welfare.

“The list of the wide-ranging rescues undertaken by our inspectorate includes wildlife being injured accidentally and deliberately, animals becoming trapped or injured, neglected pets, those who have suffered from deliberate mistreatment and also those that have been sadly abandoned.”

Flintshire was amongst the top five areas which saw the greatest number of animals rescued. Swansea saw 838 animals, Cardiff with 698, Carmarthenshire with 605, Conwy with 545 and Flintshire with 535.

Across Wales, over 2,000 animals were rehomed and RSPCA branches across the country provided 10,000 cases of welfare assistance.

The charity also aims to extend to education programmes, campaigns, events and the charity’s PawPrints accreditation scheme for public bodies.

Last year also saw the launch of the Generation Kind, a set of innovative projects aiming to nurture and encourage the values of kindness towards animals within children.

The charity is urging people to find out about an animal’s needs before getting a pet and to consider rehoming instead of buying.

RSPCA Cymru assistant director for external relations, Claire Lawson, added: “It is always insightful to look back at our work - and our statistics from 2018 demonstrates the efforts we go to in making Wales a better place for animals.

“We’re continuing to work hard every day alongside our partners in the police, local authorities and the Welsh Government to improve animal welfare and reduce animal cruelty across Wales."

If you have any animal welfare concerns or find an animal in distress please contact the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999. Should you wish to help the RSPCA you can donate online.