Sam Chandler, secretary of the Anglican Society for the Welfare of Animals (ASWA) made comments following a new report that reveals 9 out of 10 people who are found guilty of animal cruelty don't end up in jail.
Instead they get community or suspended sentences, or a fine.
Chandler said it was "ridiculous" that Christians don't care about animal cruelty.
She said the Church had "lagged behind secular society for many years" in terms of dealing with the issue of animal welfare.
Chandler explained: "There seems to be an all or nothing. There seems to be you know because they're not humans we don't have to care about them.
"And we're not saying that they are as important as human beings but I think to say that we don't need to care about them or that we don't need to care how we treat them is just ridiculous."
The Centre for Crime Prevention carried out research for England and Wales and demanded tougher punishments for offenders.
The report also found that people found guilty of animal cruelty go on to commit a huge number of other offences - including murder.
In the 10 years leading up to the end of 2015, 13,835 offences were committed by those with a previous conviction, or caution for animal cruelty, including murder and rape.
Chandler said the "hideous" cases mentioned in the report shows that people who abuse animals "either need some serious help because they are somehow unstable" or have an "anger issue that needs to be sorted out".
She echoed calls for tougher deterrents to stop people harming animals.
But the Centre for Crime Prevention said that despite the seriousness of animal cruelty offences and the strong evidence of links to other crimes, serious penalties are extremely rare, with more than 92 per cent of those found guilty avoiding prison.
