THE number of animal cruelty reports made to the RSPCA have increased across the region.
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The RSPCA released statistics on Monday, which show how many reports of animal cruelty were made during for 2017-18 in each local government area.
The RSPCA received 10,642 reports statewide.
Ararat ranked 64th of the state’s 79 councils. Of the 10,642 reports made statewide, 35 were made in Ararat. This compares with 2016-17 data, when Ararat ranked 70th.
The breakdown of those 35 reports is:
- 18 reports of animals left without sufficient food, water or shelter;
- 12 reports of hygiene, grooming and housing condition;
- 14 reports of underweight animals;
- Eight reports of sick or injured animals not receiving veterinary care;
- Two reports of animals being beaten or wounded; and
- One abandoned animal.
The majority of the reports were about cats and dogs, and eight were about horses.
Reports in the Northern Grampians shire showed a similar increase. It ranked 62 of 79, compared with a 2016-17 ranking of 65.
The RSPCA received a total of 39 reports from the area, including:
- 30 reports of animals with insufficient food, water or shelter;
- Eight reports about hygiene, grooming and housing conditions;
- 16 reports of underweight animals;
- Seven reports involving sick or injured animals not receiving vet treatment;
- Two reports about animals being beaten or wounded; and
- Four abandoned animals.
Again, the majority concerned cats and dogs, with seven concerning horses.
Reports in the Horsham municipality dropped, with a ranking of 73 out of 79, compared with its 2016-17 ranking of 68. The RSPCA received a total of 40 reports for the 12-month period.
The breakdown of those reports is:
- 25 reports of animals with insufficient food, water or shelter;
- 11 reports about hygiene, grooming and housing conditions;
- 13 reports of underweight animals;
- Four reports involving sick or injured animals not receiving vet treatment;
- Three reports about animals being beaten or wounded; and
- Two abandoned animals.
The majority again involved cats and dogs, with 10 involving horses.
RSPCA chief officer Liz Walker said gathering localised data was crucial to understanding the trends in cruelty reporting and offending across the state.
Ms Walker said that information was pivotal to targeting prevention and education initiatives in the areas that need them the most.
“Over the past two years that we’ve released these reports, we’ve seen that many communities are shocked to learn of the levels of cruelty reporting in their area and eager to see those numbers go down, just as we are,” she said.
“RSPCA Victoria welcomes the opportunities it has to work with local councils and get to the heart of local animal welfare issues.”
A spokeswoman for Adoptable Pet Rescue Stawell said although the numbers were relatively low for the region, they didn’t necessarily paint an accurate picture.
“The thing with the RSPCA Cruelty Report is that they are the extreme cases that they are taking to court,” she said.
The spokeswoman said there were plenty of cases where the animals weren’t necessarily being cared for properly but the situation wasn’t considered severe enough to meet the reporting threshold of the RSPCA.
The report does state that: “Not every offence results in a charge or a prosecution. Many offences are resolved quickly by the owner or person in charge of an animal after they have been contacted by an RSPCA Victoria Inspector.”
The spokeswoman said some reports never reached the RSPCA.
“We’ve had dogs that have been dumped out in the bush and that happens even more with cats, and you can’t link them back to anyone,” she said.
“They are neglected but they are not represented in those numbers because there is no one you can charge with that neglect. Those numbers give us somewhere to start but they truly do not reflect the irresponsibility by a lot of owners.”
The rescue centre is inundated with unwanted kittens, which the spokeswoman said was an ongoing issue and not necessarily reflected in the RSPCAs data.
“We’ve had over 60 kittens this season. We’re having to turn away people who aren’t necessarily neglecting animals as the law relates to it but they are not meeting the minimum standard of care. Kittens are dying,” she said.
“We’ve had to make kittens and un-desexed cats a priority because we want to stem the flow a bit. People neglect to realise that they are not meeting the minimum standards of care by not desexing their pets.”
Disturbing patterns had emerged on platforms such as social media, too.
“These people put ‘free to good home’ posts on Facebook – while they may not necessarily be neglecting them in the eyes of the law, people are re-homing them at younger than eight weeks which is illegal. They (the kittens) haven’t had any veterinary care and may not even be de-wormed,” she said.
The spokeswoman said the issue was complex, with a combination of inhumane attitudes and ignorance among people who thought they were doing the right thing.
“I don’t know if there’s an element of shame to it, where people don’t want to ask for help. It’s saddening and frustrating to see it. In some cases I think they do care but it’s just put on the back burner or time gets away from them,” she said.
“(Other people) treat them as a commodity, not a living breathing creature in someone’s lives.”
Christmas was another instance where people routinely abandoned pets.
“There are people who go and get a puppy or kitten for someone without asking them – they are an 18-year commitment in some instances. It’s just totally inappropriate,” the spokeswoman said.
“If you’re going to get a puppy or kitten for someone, you need to be fully aware of what breed it is and what its needs are.”
New laws will come into effect in June 2019 making it illegal to advertise any puppy or kitten, regardless of price, without a microchip number.