Victorians urged to seek help caring for animals during difficult times
Reports of deliberate animal cruelty rose by 13% over 2020-21; however, neglect continues to be the biggest animal welfare issue in Victoria, according to the RSPCA Victoria’s annual review of cruelty reports to its Inspectorate.
During 2020-21 RSPCA Victoria’s Inspectorate responded to 10,745 cruelty reports and cared directly for 1,575 seized and surrendered animals, a 6% increase on the previous year.
RSPCA Victoria’s Chief Inspector, Michael Stagg said while COVID had paused many workplaces, RSPCA Victoria’s 29 Inspectors had continued to investigate cruelty every day of the pandemic.
“The correlation between lockdowns and an increase in reports of animal beating and wounding is a really concerning trend. COVID has created a significant amount of pressure on people. When there is financial stress, mental health or drug and alcohol issues, animal cruelty and neglect tends to increase. It is also possible that reports have increased due to people being at home for longer periods.
“While reports of animals without adequate food, water or shelter have declined over the past 12 months, they still make up around half of all reports, followed by poor hygiene and insufficient grooming and housing. These reports illustrate that neglect is still our number one issue in Victoria.
“With the high number of people adopting or taking on pets during COVID, it’s vital that people understand how to look after their pet and what good welfare looks like. Research what your pet needs in terms of food, shelter, grooming, exercise, training, vet care and companionship and if you’re not sure, give us a call or make contact. We always prefer to help prevent welfare issues, than be called up when it’s too late,” said Mr Stagg.
Despite the increase in deliberate abuse, Dr Rebecca Belousoff, Inspectorate Veterinarian, agreed that the neglect of animals far outweighed other forms of cruelty reported to RSPCA Victoria’s Inspectorate and formed the majority of cases she sees.
“The high number of cruelty reports involving animal neglect is sad and frustrating given how preventable most are. What people don’t realise is that lifelong medical and behavioural problems can result from starvation or not getting vet treatment in time,” said Dr Belousoff.
Offences in these reports included:
Reported concerns | 20/21 | 19/20 | 18/19 |
Instances of animals with insufficient food, water or shelter | 5,520 | 6,044 | 6,672 |
Concerns about hygiene, grooming and housing conditions | 4,149 | 3,887 | 3,706 |
Reports of underweight animals | 2,636 | 2,862 | 3,274 |
Sick and injured animals not receiving veterinary treatment | 2,565 | 2,559 | 2,799 |
Concerns about animals being beaten, wounded or abused | 1,702 | 1,467 | 1,310 |
Instances of abandoned animals | 1,163 | 1,172 | 1,232 |
Note: Many of the reports received by RSPCA Victoria in 2020-21 included allegations of multiple offences involving multiple animals, hence the total number of offences exceeds the 10,745 reports.
Despite the various stages of lockdown throughout 2020-21, RSPCA Victoria’s Inspectorate continued its important work and:
- issued 385 notices to comply
- finalised 53 prosecutions, resulting in 53 guilty findings
- and 31 disqualification orders
Animals most commonly reported
Welfare concerns for dogs, cats and horses continued to make up the majority of the 10,745 cruelty reports in 2020-21:
- 6,800 reports involved dogs and puppies
- 1,916 reports involved cats and kittens
- 1,183 reports involved horses
Reports by local government area – Rankings by number of reports | |||||||
2020-21 Ranking by reports | 2020-21 reports | 2020-2021 Ranking per capita | Local government area | 2019-20 ranking | 2019-20 reports | 2018-19 ranking | 2018-19 reports |
1 | 640 | 28 | Greater Geelong City Council | 2 | 561 | 1 | 617 |
2 | 577 | 47 | Casey City Council | 1 | 581 | 2 | 561 |
3 | 386 | 45 | Hume City Council | 3 | 374 | 3 | 410 |
4 | 348 | 57 | Wyndham City Council | 8 | 328 | 7 | 364 |
5 | 343 | 52 | Whittlesea City Council | 4 | 344 | 5 | 383 |
6 | 340 | 38 | Mornington Peninsula Shire Council | 10 | 303 | 13 | 300 |
7 | 320 | 35 | Melton City Council | 5 | 338 | 6 | 375 |
8 | 318 | 6 | Latrobe City Council | 7 | 333 | 12 | 310 |
9 | 305 | 27 | City of Greater Bendigo | 9 | 320 | 4 | 393 |
10 | 298 | 17 | Cardinia Shire Council | 13 | 284 | 9 | 351 |
Reports by local government area – Rankings by reports per capita | ||||||
2020-21 Ranking | 2020-21 Per capita | Local government area | 2019-20 Ranking | 2019-20 Per capita | 2018-19 Ranking | 2018-19 Per capita |
1 | 141.92 | Pyrenees Shire Council | 1 | 1:144 | 1 | 1: 101 |
2 | 174.79 | Loddon Shire Council | 3 | 1:208 | 2 | 1: 139 |
3 | 175.63 | Yarriambiack Shire Council | 9 | 1:289 | 31 | 1:370 |
4 | 177.14 | Strathbogie Shire Council | 15 | 1:308 | 4 | 1:190 |
5 | 216.83 | West Wimmera Shire Council | 17 | 1:320 | 67 | 1:966 |
6 | 230.37 | Latrobe City Council | 5 | 1:227 | 8 | 1: 243 |
7 | 238.50 | Buloke Shire Council | 23 | 1: 360 | 23 | 1:309 |
8 | 243.33 | Hepburn Shire Council | 2 | 1:179 | 3 | 1: 180 |
9 | 251.03 | Mitchell Shire Council | 6 | 1:263 | 16 | 1: 277 |
10 | 252.77 | Rural City of Wangaratta | 7 | 1:265 | 19 | 1: 288 |
About RSPCA Victoria’s Inspectorate
RSPCA Victoria has 29 Inspectors authorised to enforce Victoria’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 (POCTAA). The authorised organisations are the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions; the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning; Parks Victoria; Victoria Police, Greyhound Racing Victoria and many local councils.
RSPCA Victoria investigates reports of animal cruelty involving companion animals (including horses), livestock in herds of less than 10 and poultry in flocks of less than 50. Reports involving larger herds of livestock or wildlife are referred to other agencies for investigation.
