The Humane Society of the United States released some interesting facts concerning animal cruelty and abuse earlier this year. Not surprisingly, the animal that topped the charts as the most abused was man's best friend, the dog. In particular, and again not surprising, pit bulls were the leader of the pack in animal cruelty cases.

According to their <a href="http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/abuse_neglect/facts/animal_cruelty_facts_statistics.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff;">report</span></a>:

"Of 1,880 cruelty cases* reported in the media in 2007:

•64.5% (1,212) involved dogs

•18% (337) involved cats

•25% (470) involved other animals

•Reported abuse against pit bulls appears to be on the rise: in 2000–2001, pit bulls were involved in 13% of reported dog-abuse cases; in 2007, they were involved in 25% of reported dog-abuse cases.

*some cases involved multiple species"
<h6><strong><em>photo credit: flickr/betsyweber</em></strong></h6>