THE RSPCA last night led calls for an urgent change in the law after animal cruelty figures again shamed the region.

It was forced to take court action in 119 cases last year where animals were neglected and mistreated in the North Yorkshire, Middlesbrough and Newcastle inspectorate areas.

This was the same number as in 2002 but greater than in the entire South and South-West (59) and South-East (109) areas.

The number of rescues of animals in distress across the region stood at 341 last year - down from 393 in 2002.

The RSPCA said possibly its worst case of animal cruelty in the region happened last year when a starving dog was left in squalid conditions in Middlesbrough. The desperate animal was forced to eat parts of a dead dog in the same room in order to survive.

The charity said its stark figures again highlighted the need to improve animal welfare legislation so that owners could be prosecuted for failing to provide a basic level of care, rather than having to wait until an animal suffered harm.

David Millard, regional superintendent with the RSPCA, said: "The sad reality currently in many cases is that we are powerless to do anything except give advice because the law only allows action when the animal is suffering."

Across the North last year there were 293 prosecutions, up from 272 in 2002.

Rescues also increased - from 2,102 to 2,265, although the number of phone calls from the public fell from 317,938 to 284,155.

Animal welfare assessment figures, collected from day-to-day visits made by inspectors, also showed that between June 1, last year and May 31, there were 30,900 complaints made in the North involving 112,617 animals.

This compared with 108,000 complaints made nationally involving 650,489 animals.

More than 10,100 animals across the North were at risk of suffering in 2003-2004, the charity said.

Concerns raised by the public included 3,401 animals who were failing to get treatment for injuries or illness and 2,723 who did not have access to clean water.

Four years ago The Northern Echo launched its Animal Watch campaign in response to growing concern over animal cruelty in the region