New USPCA figures show a 175% rise in animal welfare reports in the past year.

The number of reports relating to animal welfare concerns and investigative activity has increased almost 175% in the past year, new figures from the USPCA show.

The organisation revealed 327 reports were made between April and September 2026, up from the 119 recorded in the same period last year. The total comprises 200 animal welfare reports, compared with 75 in April–September 2025, and 127 additional reports from investigative activity.

Of the 200 animal welfare reports, 92 concerned neglect, 32 suspected malnourishment and 24 alleged mistreatments. Dogs accounted for 42%; horses, ponies and donkeys accounted for 58 reports, almost 30%, an emerging issue over the past eighteen months. 

The news comes ahead of a major research workshop led by the USPCA alongside charities, statutory agencies and researchers at Queen’s University and the Animal Welfare Evidence Centre on October 28.

Heather Weir, Chief Executive of the USPCA, said:

“Every animal deserves care and protection. Supporting the USPCA puts compassion into action and helps sustain our work towards a future free from cruelty.

“These latest figures show a substantial rise in the concerns reported and recorded by the charity, with neglect the most frequently reported issue. The USPCA works collaboratively with the statutory agencies raising concerns as soon as we learn about them, so the impact of cruelty and neglect can be addressed before it is too late and animals died needlessly. We stand with DAERA, the councils and other agencies, ready to support robust investigations and care of animals. Please stand with us for a kinder future for animals.”

Of the 200 animal welfare reports, 198 covered Northern Ireland’s eleven council areas, one concerned the Republic of Ireland, and one had no recorded location. Newry, Mourne and Down, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, and Belfast City together accounted for 51%. This distribution is not a population-adjusted comparison of welfare conditions.

She said Wednesday’s workshop would help bring a clearer understanding of these concerns.

“This event will explore gaps in evidence, barriers to collecting and using data, as well as developing shared research priorities for Northern Ireland. This multi-sector approachaims to lay the foundations for better-informed services and more effective prevention of cruelty.

“Our shared compassion for animals can bring us together across organisational boundaries. Alongside Animal Welfare Officers, DAERA and other agencies, the USPCA is working towards a kinder future, one where every animal is cared for and cruelty and neglect have no place. ”

Help end cruelty to animals. Support the USPCA.

For animal welfare concerns: Animal welfare | nidirect

Notes 

• Source and period: Figures are drawn from the USPCA’s Animal Welfare Reporting document and cover April–September 2026 unless otherwise stated.

• Overall reporting total: The 327 reports comprise 200 animal welfare reports and 127 additional reports arising from investigative activity.

• Breakdowns: Species, welfare-category and geographical figures relate to the 200 animal welfare reports, not the overall total of 327.

• Geographical coverage: The geographical breakdown totals 200: 198 reports across Northern Ireland’s eleven council areas, one concerning the Republic of Ireland and one with an unknown location.

• Interpretation: Reports describe concerns or allegations; they do not in themselves establish that an offence occurred. An increase in reporting does not necessarily represent an equivalent increase in the underlying incidence of cruelty.

BBC reporting here https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g3k2w4kgpo and here https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62xdkmj2eno