MORE animals than ever are being subjected to violence at the hands of cruel owners in the south, according to new figures released by the RSPCA.

The annual report released by the animal charity today also reveals a worrying rise in the number of children subjecting pets to violence and cruelty.

Officers are branding 2002 "a violent and brutal year" and calling on society to acknowledge the seriousness of the problem.

Figures show that although prosecutions against people neglecting animals were down overall, the number of cases involving violence towards pets had risen.

In 2002 one-in-ten prosecutions involved a violent or brutal act towards an animal. A total of 57 prison sentences were dished out that's up from 46 in 2001.

Some of the most horrific cases were also dealt with by RSPCA officers last year involving juveniles. One case, as reported in the Daily Echo, involved a 16-year-old Southampton boy who stabbed a kitten ten times with a kitchen knife because he thought the animal didn't like him.

The teenager, who cannot be named, also admitted hurling the kitten at a chest of drawers before using part of a broom handle to do press-ups on its neck.

RSPCA inspector Alan Barnes labelled the incident in October 2001 as one of the most horrific acts of cruelty he had ever investigated.

The teenager was given a community rehabilitation order for a year and banned from keeping pets for life by Southampton magistrates.

RSPCA chief officer Tony Crittenden said: "Every year we deal with cases that shock, but never before have we seen such a catalogue of horrifying and vicious acts of deliberate cruelty and torture towards defenceless animals.

"The fact that some of the worst incidents involve children is of particular concern. The images from some of these cases will stay in our inspectors minds for a long time."

Cases of neglect also ended in prosecutions including that of Jane Hill, 48, who caused unnecessary suffering to 15 animals including dogs, a parrot and ferrets by keeping them in squalid conditions.

Hill, of Gosport Road, Fareham, admitted leaving the animals in small cages for up to 48 hours without proper access to food and water. She was given a 240-hour community punishment order and was also disqualified from keeping pets for life.

It's reported that dozens of animals were also rescued after being dumped by their owners in car parks, bins and cardboard boxes. The official animal cruelty figures for 2002 will be published today at the Stubbington Ark rescue centre.