Animal cruelty is given own ranking

CAMPASPE Shire ranked 34th of Victoria’s 79 local council areas for animal cruelty reports, placing it 19th on a per capita basis.
                                                 

The data comes after a list of hotspots on the issue was released by RSPCA Victoria last week.

RSPCA Victoria received 10,180 cruelty reports across the state in 2016-17 — about 28 per day.

Of these, 106 were concerns about the welfare of animals in the Campaspe region, which equates to one report for every 350 residents in the area.

Last year Campaspe ranked 41st and 30th on a per capita basis.

RSPCA chief executive Liz Walker said understanding the rate of cruelty reporting and the different offences in local areas is critical to ensuring that RSPCA Victoria directs its education, advocacy and enforcement efforts to the places that need it most.

As with last year’s data, reports received in 2016-17 about animals not receiving basic care far outnumbered all other offences reported.

“It’s disappointing to see that, for the second year in a row, too many Victorian animals were reported to us because of concerns about very basic issues: food, water, shelter and vet care when they’re sick or injured. These kinds of problems are so preventable.

Reports received from Campaspe included 51 reports of animals with insufficient food, water or shelter (4,763 across the state) and 48 concerns about hygiene, grooming and housing conditions (3,349 statewide).

Welfare concerns for dogs, cats and horses continue to make up the majority of issues reported.