ONE person in every five in the south east of England has seen someone harm an animal online, new data from the RSPCA suggests.

Reports about online animal abuse to the charity look set to reach a four-year peak.

The data forms part of RSPCA’s Animal Kindness Index, published on Monday, July 22, in collaboration with the Scottish SPCA and USPCA.

The index shows key findings: in the south east, half of households own a pet, in line with the UK average; around two-thirds (65 per cent) see themselves as animal lovers, slightly less than the 68 per cent UK-wide average; a large majority (85 per cent) think animal welfare should be protected by law; and 48 per cent are worried about meeting vet bills.

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Meanwhile, 81 per cent have taken measures to help animals during the past year, again slightly above the UK average of 79 per cent.

However, there is growing concern about the effects of online animal cruelty, particularly on younger people.

The RSPCA's index reveals that across the UK, over two in five 16 and 17-year-olds and almost a third of 18 to 24-year-olds have seen animal cruelty online.

Since 2020, there have been 2,032 reports of animal abuse on social media. The numbers for 2024 are expected to be the highest in four years.

The charity fears that such repeated exposure could make young people see such behaviour as normal.

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It is encouraging social media firms to do more to remove abusive content and make it easier to report it.

Finally, the upcoming consultation on the new Online Safety Act 2023 will examine what steps social media firms should take to control online animal abuse under the new legislation.

RSPCA chief executive Chris Sherwood said: "There’s a growing concern that the proliferation of animal abuse content online risks normalising animal harm, pain and suffering.

"Our lives have been transformed by the internet - but it poses some inherent risks too. We’re deeply concerned by the terrifyingly high numbers of young people now being exposed to images and videos of animal abuse.

"Social media giants need to make it easy and obvious for people to report this horrible content, and must prioritise protecting its users from images and videos glorifying animal harm."