Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many prosecutions for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal were successful in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, (4) 2022, and (5) 2023.

The Ministry of Justice holds information on prosecutions, convictions and sentencing outcomes for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, covering the period requested. The latest data available, until year ending June 2023, can be obtained through the Outcomes by Offence data tool in the following link: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: June 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Prosecutions and convictions for all years requested, from January 2019 until data is available up to June 2023, has been provided in Table 1. These totals relate to both the summary non-motoring and triable either way classifications of the offence. The full calendar year for 2023 will be available in the next update of the Outcomes by Offence tool, expected in May 2024.