The 10th of December is the busiest day for emergency calls to the RSPCA, according to the animal charity.
On this day last year, the RSPCA received 2,530 calls to its cruelty line, while December itself was its busiest month with 59,121 total calls.
The charity also said that it received 934 calls on Christmas day last year, the highest number recorded for five years as well as a 28% increase compared with 2017.
Between 18 December and 2 January, it received 30,188 calls overall, compared with the 25,721 calls received during the same period the year prior.
It is now appealing for donations to its Stock the Sleigh campaign to help the charity care for mistreated animals over the festive period.
Dermot Murphy, chief inspectorate officer, said: “Sadly each year our officers are out rescuing animals from cruelty and neglect often made worse by adverse weather conditions.
“This same week for the previous two years has been the busiest week of December so I know our cruelty line is going to be inundated with calls reporting concerns to us.”
He added: “That’s why we’ve launched our Stock the Sleigh appeal to help the 10,000 animals we expect to take in over the winter as we cannot do this alone, we need help and kindness from the general public.”
“Just £25 could help us keep answering these phone calls every day of the year as well as providing a safe bed and food for an animal in need.”
