For many, the perception of animal cruelty relates to deliberate acts such as beating or wounding an animal, and while this does occur, animal cruelty data consistently shows the most common form of cruelty is neglect.
During the 2021-2022 financial year, RSPCA Victoria’s Inspectorate responded to 10,577 reports of animal cruelty. Neglect was the basis for almost half (46%) of all reports received, meaning members of the community had reported concerns for animals with a lack of food, water, shelter, or veterinary care. Other types of neglect reported included poor husbandry, lack of appropriate hygiene and insufficient grooming, shearing and farriery for horses.
A new interactive animal cruelty map now makes it possible for members of the community to track rates of animal cruelty in their local government area and across the state – with Geelong and Casey holding the unfortunate top spots for the second year running. Rounding out the top 5 hotspots based on the number of reports received are Wyndham, Hume and Whittlesea.
Simply click on the map below to see the animal cruelty rankings for your local government area.