ANIMAL cruelty complaints have dropped in Oxfordshire thanks to people using social media to raise awareness, the RSPCA has said.

It goes against the national trend, in which the charity has seen a jump in the number of cruelty cases reported.

The number of general complaints, such as concern for an animal’s welfare, made to the charity in Oxfordshire dropped from 1,411 in 2013 to 1,376 last year.

However, the RSPCA said direct cruelty complaints investigated in Oxfordshire, including beatings, improper killing, poisoning, trapping and mutilation, rose from 149 to 174.

Spokeswoman Calie Rydings said: “In recent years we have seen a rise in the use of social media and our education, information and advice messages are spread much more widely than ever before.

“We hope this means people are becoming more aware that if they see an animal being cruelly treated they can contact the RSPCA. In the Oxfordshire region, the vast majority of this advice is followed by owners who want to do their best for their animals.”

The number of convictions has also dropped considerably.

In 2013, there were 10 people convicted of a total of 106 charges for animal cruelty.

Six of them were from the same family who ran the disgraced Crunchy’s Animal Rescue in Longworth.

Just one person was convicted of animal cruelty, involving two charges, in Oxfordshire last year.

The overall drop in cruelty complaints in the county is in contrast to a national rise in complaints from 153,770 in 2013 to 159,831 in 2014.