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RSPCA Victoria is joining forces with Melbourne Queer Film Festival (MQFF) to launch a new short film competition, De-Sexy Snippets, aiming to communicate the importance of desexing cats and the associated positive impacts on animal welfare.
RSPCA Victoria is considering reports released by Racing Victoria today regarding the death of Irish horse Anthony Van Dyck after last year’s Melbourne Cup and broader measures to increase the safety of international racehorses and riders.
RSPCA Victoria is urgently calling on the public to come forward with information relating to a carriage horse that collapsed and died in North Melbourne on the morning of Sunday March 21st 2021.
RSPCA Victoria is disappointed by the announcement to ease restrictions to the 2021 duck hunting season based on initial data released from a new aerial pilot survey estimating the total population of ducks in Victoria.
RSPCA Victoria shelters across the state are saying Meows the Time for those thinking about adopting an animal, calling upon Victorians to Hop to It. RSPCA Victoria is aiming to find loving homes for 200 cats and 50 rabbits over the coming weeks and needs the help of Victorians to reach these goals.
Meows the Time, Hop to It will see adoption fees for all adult cats and rabbits reduced to $20, as the RSPCA has found itself inundated by twitching noses and long whiskers, all looking for families to call their own.
Head of Operations, Tanya Drakoupolos, says that RSPCA Victoria hopes the campaign will inspire animal lovers and encourage those thinking about adding a cat or rabbit to their household to take advantage of the $20 adoption fees while it lasts.
“Cats and rabbits are sometimes a little under-appreciated, but they make the best pets. They are affectionate, great company and full of personality. All they want is to find a home where they can love and be loved,” said Ms Drakopoulos.
“Our goal is to find Victorian homes for 200 of our cats and 50 of our rabbits. All six of our shelters will be calling upon their communities for support and to spread the word about the Meows the Time, Hop to It adoption campaign.”
“We have high numbers of cats and rabbits at the moment, therefore if you are considering a new pet, I encourage you to adopt a cat or rabbit. If you haven’t considered them before, I can guarantee you will be surprised at the amount of love and companionship they provide.”
While RSPCA Victoria cares for animals as long as they require it, we know that the best place for them is in a loving home environment. Adoption promotions like Meows the Time, Hop to It help reduce the length of stay in the shelter and find them homes faster.
All cats and rabbits adopted from RSPCA Victoria are desexed, microchipped and vaccinated to ensure they are ready to start a happy new life.
The fee for an adult cat is usually $120 and the fee for rabbits $86. For additional information visit www.rspcavic.org/adoption.
RSPCA Victoria is encouraging Victorians to join thousands of other Australians and their pooches to hit the pavement this May, to raise funds for the RSPCA. Registrations are open via www.millionpawswalk.com.au
The RSPCA’s Million Paws Walk is an annual highlight for dog lovers across the country where people and their canine friends walk together to raise funds to support the thousands of animals that need the RSPCA’s help every year.
In response to ongoing developments of COVID-19, RSPCA Victoria has adapted the much-loved national dog walking event for 2021. Replacing organised community events and running in a revised event format, Million Paws Walk: Walk This May is asking Victorian dog owners to hit the pavement for 30 minutes a day for the month of May to raise funds to fight animal cruelty.
Million Paws Walk – Walk this May runs nationally and while social distancing is a national priority, Australia’s super pooches still need enrichment and exercise. This year in Victoria, RSPCA is asking supporters to safely take their dogs for a walk in their neighbourhood or their own backyard, as way of continuing the tradition of walking in May to raise funds for RSPCA.
RSPCA Victoria CEO Dr Liz Walker hopes Victorians will take the opportunity to celebrate their four-legged friends by walking to fundraise for animals in need.
“The past year has highlighted for many of us the invaluable comfort and companionship our pets provide. However, there are many animals that haven’t yet found caring forever homes. It’s our job at RSPCA Victoria to care for, protect and find homes for the many animals in need and we rely on community support to do this.”
“I encourage all Victorians to take on the challenge and register to Walk this May with the knowledge they will be helping other animals find their perfect companion,” says Dr Walker.
Participants are encouraged to record all their dog walks using the ‘Pawdometre’ on the Million Paws Walk website, as well as fundraise in the lead up to the event. Money raised from online fundraising and merchandise sales will be used to support RSPCA Victoria’s work within the community, including caring for more than 20,000 animals that come through its shelters each year.
RSPCA Ambassador Tim Campbell has hosted the Million Paws Walk at Albert Park for 12 consecutive years and while he won’t be on stage at Albert Park this year, he’ll be walking his RSPCA rescue dog, Oscar, in acknowledgement of the many animals in need across the state.
“It’s more important than ever that we keep on walking our four-legged friends this year. While the pandemic has impacted our lives in many ways, we still have a responsibility to our pets and all the animals in our community so while I walk Oscar this May, I’ll be thinking of all the animals we’ll be helping RSPCA Victoria to care for and rehome,” said Tim.
For additional information visit www.millionpawswalk.com.au.
RSPCA Victoria is encouraging Victorians to join thousands of other Australians and their pooches to hit the pavement this May, to raise funds for the RSPCA. Registrations are open via www.millionpawswalk.com.au
The RSPCA’s Million Paws Walk is an annual highlight for dog lovers across the country where people and their canine friends walk together to raise funds to support the thousands of animals that need the RSPCA’s help every year.
In response to ongoing developments of COVID-19, RSPCA Victoria has adapted the much-loved national dog walking event for 2021. Replacing organised community events and running in a revised event format, Million Paws Walk: Walk This May is asking Victorian dog owners to hit the pavement for 30 minutes a day for the month of May to raise funds to fight animal cruelty.
Million Paws Walk – Walk this May runs nationally and while social distancing is a national priority, Australia’s super pooches still need enrichment and exercise. This year in Victoria, RSPCA is asking supporters to safely take their dogs for a walk in their neighbourhood or their own backyard, as way of continuing the tradition of walking in May to raise funds for RSPCA.
RSPCA Victoria CEO Dr Liz Walker hopes Victorians will take the opportunity to celebrate their four-legged friends by walking to fundraise for animals in need.
“The past year has highlighted for many of us the invaluable comfort and companionship our pets provide. However, there are many animals that haven’t yet found caring forever homes. It’s our job at RSPCA Victoria to care for, protect and find homes for the many animals in need and we rely on community support to do this.”
“I encourage all Victorians to take on the challenge and register to Walk this May with the knowledge they will be helping other animals find their perfect companion,” says Dr Walker.
Participants are encouraged to record all their dog walks using the ‘Pawdometre’ on the Million Paws Walk website, as well as fundraise in the lead up to the event. Money raised from online fundraising and merchandise sales will be used to support RSPCA Victoria’s work within the community, including caring for more than 20,000 animals that come through its shelters each year.
RSPCA Ambassador Tim Campbell has hosted the Million Paws Walk at Albert Park for 12 consecutive years and while he won’t be on stage at Albert Park this year, he’ll be walking his RSPCA rescue dog, Oscar, in acknowledgement of the many animals in need across the state.
“It’s more important than ever that we keep on walking our four-legged friends this year. While the pandemic has impacted our lives in many ways, we still have a responsibility to our pets and all the animals in our community so while I walk Oscar this May, I’ll be thinking of all the animals we’ll be helping RSPCA Victoria to care for and rehome,” said Tim.
For additional information visit www.millionpawswalk.com.au.
In celebration of Australia’s pets, Victoria’s most top of mind animal welfare organisation, RSPCA Victoria is expanding the pet care conversation through the inaugural launch of its Creature Tales podcast series, launching today.
A proud supporter of RSPCA Victoria and one of Australia’s biggest podcast distributors, iHeart Radio will assist in spreading the Creature Tales stories to promote the importance of animals in our world.
Launching with fortnightly episodes covering topics of interest to all animal loving Australians, the series includes useful content on general pet health, including behaviour training and how to manage the mental health of pets. Listeners will also hear from RSPCA Inspectors and a variety of experts to educate Australians on all things pet care and animal welfare.
Dr Liz Walker, CEO, RSPCA Victoria says the new podcast series is another tool in RSPCA Victoria’s education kit to help people care for their animals and tackle some lesser-known topics such PTSD and dementia in dogs and how to be an eco-friendly pet parent.
“We’re thrilled to launch Creature Tales, as we see it as another way we can support people to better understand how to care for their pets.
“Research in the last few decades is proving what we’ve always known anecdotally – pets aren’t just good, they’re actually good for us. We now know that pets can help improve our quality of life including reducing stress, improving health and providing companionship. So it’s important that we give back to our pets and provide them with the best level of care possible, said Dr Walker.
Australia has one of the highest pet ownership rates in the world with over 29 million pets nationally. This equates to approximately 61% of households including a pet where Dogs are the most common (40%) followed by cats (27%).
These figures illustrate how important animals are in Australian culture however it’s not just cats and dogs that Australians include in their families. The Creature Tales podcast series will cover other companion animals such as horses, rabbits and guinea pigs, and will also touch on relevant wildlife topics.
Delivered in a friendly and engaging interview format and hosted by RSPCA Victoria’s Alex Keefe, familiar to many as a TV news journalist, Creature Tales covers an array of engaging and sometimes quirky topics. While informal in its approach, the series provides listeners with relevant information about how to best care for pets.
A curation of original content from RSPCA Victoria and other animal welfare experts, the information provided through the podcasts series is of an educational nature with a storytelling angle. Creature Tales provides informative hints and tips to help Australians better care for their pets and understand the fundamentals of animal welfare.
Interviews in the first series include;
• RSPCA Victoria’s Veterinary Behaviourist, Dr Gabrielle Carter, on pet mental health
• Peter Alexander, RSPCA ambassador and why he uses his profile to promote welfare
• Jess Collins, RSPCA Victoria Animal Attendant speaking about rabbits and guinea pigs
• Sr Inspector, Major Investigations Team, RSPCA Victoria, Steve Cook, on the importance of the inspectorate
• Education & Learning Officer at RSPCA Victoria, Jenny Haber on common cat issues
• Dr Rupert Baker, RSPCA Improvement Manager on the topic of Black Saturday and the 2020 bushfires
• Dr Natalie Rourke, Head Vet at Werribee Open Range Zoo, regarding the Koala Hospital
• Dr Steph Stubbe, RSPCA Veterinarian and founder of AniPal, about eco-friendly pet ownership
RSPCA Victoria’s Creature Tales is available via iHeart Radio, Apple, Google Podcasts and Spotify or wherever you like to listen.
Find out more at www.rspcavic.org/creaturetales.
RSPCA Victoria is opening the doors to its barn to welcome students back to its much-loved School Holiday Program at the Burwood East site for the first time in over a year. The program will run from Tuesday, 6 April to Friday, 16 April with a blended model of in-person and interactive virtual sessions.
The RSPCA Victoria School Holiday Program is most suited to primary-school students between five and 12 years of age. Session topics vary from dog body language, the secret life of hens, and what it takes to be an RSPCA Inspector.
Education and Learning Officer, Emily Constantine, said after a year of live-streaming the team is excited to have students back on site for a truly immersive experience and the animals have missed the interaction too.
“When you bring a group of young, passionate animal lovers together, magical things happen. The smiles on the kids’ faces are the best part of our day; for many of them it’s the first time they’ve met farm animals such as cows, goats and hens up close,” says Ms Constantine.
“The School Holiday Program is a really special part of our education offering, even in a virtual environment. During COVID-19 restrictions we used some amazing technology that brought the animals right into the students’ homes. It was so successful we decided to keep the virtual sessions as part of the program.
“A blended model, with half our sessions in-person and the other half via Zoom, means we can reach more children across the state, including those unable to travel to Burwood East to visit the education barn.”
The face-to-face sessions run from 9:30am to 3.00pm and students will be treated to jam-packed days full of animal fun, interacting with and learning all about the animals that live in and around the RSPCA.
The Zoom sessions will run from 10:30am to 11:30am and students will participate in a live-stream from the barn to meet animals, hear their rescue stories and find out what’s involved in caring for them. The live chat function allows students to ask questions of the experts in real time. These interactive sessions will be accompanied by resources to keep the kids entertained during the holidays.
RSPCA Victoria is again imploring the community to commit to better standards of care for animals, after another case of neglect, involving a puppy, was finalised in court this month.
After a report was received about animals in poor living conditions, RSPCA Inspectors attended a property in Echuca and found a young Kelpie Doberman cross dog in poor body condition, her ribs and spine protruding.
The resident at the house stated she was not the owner of the dog, but had been left in charge of the animal for a number of weeks while the owner was travelling interstate.
The owner was contacted and provided with various options relating to the puppy’s immediate care requirements, however elected to surrender ‘Jedda’ to RSPCA Victoria.
Upon surrender, the puppy was taken to a local vet who determined she was emaciated and dehydrated. Results from blood tests subsequently confirmed there were no underlying health reasons for the puppy’s emaciated condition, and that the cause of her condition was simply lack of adequate nutrition for multiple weeks. Weighing in at only 3.36kg, Jedda was placed on fluids and hospitalised overnight for monitoring.
The following day Jedda was transported to the RSPCA Burwood clinic where she received ongoing care and assessment. Jedda was put on a feeding plan and placed in foster care to help her recover in a loving environment.
Jedda thrived in foster care and within eight days her weight had increased by 62% to 5.44kg.
Inspectorate Team Leader Karen Collier said it was extremely frustrating to see that neglect continued to account for such a high proportion of cruelty reports.
“It’s heartbreaking to see animals are still not receiving the most basic standard of care,” Ms Collier said.
“Last financial year we received almost 4,000 cruelty reports relating to animals with insufficient food and water provided, and over 2,800 reports relating to underweight animals.
“Our Inspectors are passionate about education and work hard to help the community provide the best level of care for their animals, but there is still an onus on people to be proactive and reach out for assistance.
“There is no excuse for an animal to be in the condition in which Jedda was found, particularly a young puppy.”
During an online court hearing this month, the person in charge of Jedda was convicted under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1984 (POCTAA) for:
• 9(1)(f) – failure to provide an animal with sufficient food or drink, and
• 9(1)(i) – failure to provide veterinary or other appropriate attention or treatment.
The accused was fined $1,500 and ordered to pay costs of $207.10. She was also disqualified from being the person in charge of any dog for a period of five years.
Jedda gained weight and confidence in foster care and has since been adopted into a loving family where she has been renamed ‘Juno’.
Please see photos of ‘Juno’ at the time of rescue and now, after adoption at https://we.tl/t-KdZpL9Y0tQ.
In a win for animal welfare, pets will now be recognised as victims of family violence as an Animal Justice Party motion proposing changes to Victoria’s family violence laws passed unanimously in Parliament today.
The motion has called on the government to review the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 to recognise that companion animals are affected by family violence. The motion also called for more funding to support victim survivors of family violence, including for the care of animals, and removing barriers for victims who are trying to escape abusive households but don’t want to leave their pet behind.
RSPCA Victoria CEO, Dr Liz Walker, said the link between family violence and animal abuse was well-documented, both in research and in the experience of RSPCA Victoria’s Inspectors.
“Numerous studies have shown that in households experiencing domestic violence and abuse, there is also a high probability of animal abuse. We know that cruelty to animals is a strong marker for other forms of violence, so we are very supportive of any improvements to legislation that works to better protect both people and animals in these situations,” says Dr Walker.
“While the proposed changes aim to better protect animals in violent homes, importantly, they also recognise that victims often do not leave abusive situations for fear of abandoning their animals. Pets are an important part of the family, so making it easier for victims to leave unsafe situations with their pets is a huge step forward.”
In the 2019-20 financial year, RSPCA Victoria provided emergency boarding for 148 animals, including those belonging to people affected by family violence.
“RSPCA Victoria’s Inspectors investigate thousands of animal cruelty reports every year and often see that where animal abuse exists, so does family violence. Our Inspectors are trained to identify signs of abuse and work closely to refer these cases to relevant social services, Victoria Police and family violence agencies.
“We hope that these changes will encourage further cross-agency collaboration, to identify signs of animal abuse before it is reported to us. Veterinarians, community service workers and other frontline staff should be trained and supported to identify and report suspected cases of animal cruelty.”
RSPCA Victoria believes that key agencies need to be empowered to create more opportunities for companion animals to be accommodated at refuge centres and other emergency housing facilities. The RSPCA also believes that relevant state and territory legislation should allow for the inclusion of companion animals in violence intervention/restraining orders.
RSPCA Victoria is urging pet owners not to delay their pets’ vaccinations any further after last year’s COVID shutdown caused many people to cancel their animals’ annual vet checks.
Dr Emma Bronts, RSPCA Victoria’s Chief Veterinarian, says the RSPCA’s Burwood vet clinic has seen a reduction from 344 appointments to 264 appointments a week, creating concern that pets may be missing out on their essential vaccinations as owners may not have rescheduled cancelled appointments from last year.
“With all the discussion about vaccines at the moment, let’s ensure our pets don’t get left out of the conversation. Vaccinations are essential to protect your pet from a number of serious and life-threatening diseases. It is the single most important way to ensure your pet has a long and healthy life,” says Dr Bronts.
During the COVID-19 lockdown last year, many people had to cancel their pets’ routine check-ups with vet clinics only open for essential and emergency appointments. During an annual vet check, your pet will receive any necessary vaccinations and boosters, as well as a physical exam and any required tests or treatments to ensure they are fit and well.
“Many Victorians delayed their routine heath appointments last year, like the dentist or the optometrist. We know we must prioritise our health this year, and it should be the same for your pet. At RSPCA Victoria clinics, we are reaching out to clients to remind them of their pets’ appointments they may have cancelled during the pandemic lockdown.
“It can be easy to forget when there is nothing obviously wrong with your animal, but yearly checks are an essential part of responsible pet ownership. Without vaccinations your pet becomes vulnerable to a whole host of diseases that may endanger their life. Whether you own a dog, cat, rabbit or horse, booking them in for a vaccination should be number one priority this year.”
Other ways to protect your pet from disease include regularly washing your hands when feeding or interacting with your pet, providing routine flea and worming treatment and ensuring they have a balanced diet.
For cats, RSPCA Victoria encourages owners to keep them indoors, or in a contained outdoor area at all times. Dogs should avoid drinking from communal water bowls and nosing through garbage.
To book a vaccination appointment at an RSPCA Victoria vet clinic, visit www.rspcavic.org/clinic.
RSPCA Victoria’s Major Investigations Team is currently seeking information from the public regarding the alleged sale of puppies in public places. RSPCA Victoria Inspectors are investigating two separate alleged brokers and breeders – one selling puppies in public in the Mitchell Shire Council, Macedon Ranges Shire Council and Whittlesea Council areas, the other in the Colac Otway Shire area.
It is alleged the puppies were being sold from public areas near schools, service stations and carparks. The breeds included Bull Terriers, Great Danes and Kelpies, some of which allegedly required veterinary treatment soon after purchase.
The sale of animals in public places such as parks, roadsides and car parks is illegal. Members of the public who may have information relating to the sale of puppies in these areas are urged to contact RSPCA Victoria directly as soon as possible.
Animal lover and AFLW Carlton player, Gab Pound, has joined RSPCA Victoria as the latest ambassador for all creatures great and small.
Victorians who spent a lonely Valentine’s Day need look no further, RSPCA Victoria says ‘find some bunny to love’ and adopt a rabbit or guinea pig during the small animal adoption drive – Small Animal Big Love.
RSPCA Victoria is disappointed the Victorian Government has announced a 2021 duck hunting season and is urging it to review its decision due to animal welfare concerns, declining waterbird abundance, and a lack of support within the community.
The shortened season will run for 20 days starting Wednesday, 26 May 2021, with a bag limit of two ducks per day. Out of the eight game species in Victoria, the Grey Teal and Chestnut Teal have restricted hunting areas, while the Blue-winged Shoveler cannot be hunted at all this season.
The announcement of a modified season comes after RSPCA Victoria and other organisations recommended the season be cancelled. Duck hunting is banned in all Australian states and territories except South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and Victoria, and the Victorian Labor Party passed a motion to review its policy on duck hunting at its 2019 state conference.
RSPCA Australia is opposed to the recreational hunting of any animal for sport due to the inherent and unnecessary injury, pain, suffering, distress or death to the animals involved.
RSPCA Victoria’s CEO, Dr Liz Walker, says there are multiple, evidence-based reasons why the 2021 season should not proceed, including concerns around cruelty including duck wounding rates and declines in waterbird populations.
“Duck hunting results in a substantial number of ducks being wounded, with some surviving, whilst others will suffer before eventually dying. Australian studies show approximately 26% of birds shot with a shotgun will be wounded or maimed. The likely outcome for wounded, maimed or crippled birds is a slow and painful death.
“Comparing this wounding rate of 26% with the reported total harvest figure of 238,666 from the 2019 season (as the 2020 season was impacted by COVID-19), we estimate that over 62,000 ducks were wounded and not killed outright in the 2019 season. This amount of wounding is unacceptably high and cannot be tolerated,” said Dr Walker.
Of further concern, survey findings from the GMA’s Summary report of hunters’ knowledge show that only 37% of duck hunters could answer questions correctly that related to minimising wounding. Further to this 87% were not able to correctly answer how to dispatch downed ducks.
RSPCA Victoria continues to be concerned by the data provided in the Aerial Survey of Wetland Birds in Eastern Australia each year, showing long-term significant declines in the breeding index, total abundance and wetland area index.
Breeding abundance and breeding species richness has decreased considerably in 2020 when compared with the previous year, with only three species recorded breeding - the sixth lowest on record and black swans, which are not a game species, comprised 81% of all records. This indicates that the majority of game species aren’t breeding which contributes to long term decline.
All game species abundance was well below long term averages, with 5 out of 8 game species showing significant long-term declines. Four of the five species that together made up 92% of game species harvested in 2020; the Pacific Black Duck, Australian Wood Duck, Grey Teal and Mountain Duck continue to show long term declines in their abundance. Decreased breeding species richness and long term declines in abundance illustrate an alarming trajectory for future duck populations and raises significant concern around their sustainability.
While the amount of available habitat has slightly improved from 2019 (which was the lowest on record), this has not resulted in an increase in waterbird abundance, breeding or breeding species richness. While some main water storage levels, such as the Murray River Basin, have experienced an increase in 2020, this is not sufficient to promote sustainable waterbird populations. Additionally, southern parts of Australia are entering into their drier season so summer rainfall will not relieve long-term rainfall deficits.
“We acknowledge that duck hunting is currently lawful, so while it continues, RSPCA Victoria strongly recommends implementing interventions to reduce the wounding rate, improve hunter education on issues such as humanely dispatching downed ducks, making the Shotgunning Education Program mandatory and the introduction of an annual waterfowl identification test to reduce the negative welfare impacts for ducks and off-target species,” said Dr Walker.
“We are disappointed that our recommendation to cancel the 2021 duck hunting season was not heeded. Another season will cause unnecessary injury, pain, suffering and death for hundreds of thousands of birds and contribute to the ongoing decline of our waterbird population.”
RSPCA Victoria is offering an educational webinar about separation anxiety in dogs and how to manage the related issues. Running on 27th January at 7pm, the virtual education session will provide a clear understanding of how separation anxiety can manifest and how to treat the symptoms and ease the situation for both dogs and their owners.
As people return to work and school, animals that arrived in new homes over the Christmas holidays will need to adapt to new schedules. After settling into a new home and spending an extended period of time in the company of their new owners, sudden changes such as spending time on their own, may be stressful for dogs and result in changes in behaviour.RSPCA Victoria is again urging pet owners to take responsibility for their animals this summer, after three dogs were abandoned and seized by an Inspector on Christmas Eve.
After a concerned member of the community made a report, a Heeler, Kelpie and Bull Arab were found tethered on chains in a backyard in the municipality of Wyndham, with no sign of food or water.Inspector body camera footage and images can be found in the link: https://we.tl/t-nO4O2FExLu
Animal lovers are needed to open their hearts and homes to provide temporary care for animals in the centre of cruelty cases as RSPCA Victoria looks to recruit new volunteers for its Protective Custody Foster Care Program. The call for more carers comes as an unprecedented number of animals wait for their cases to be heard as the courts work through a backlog due to COVID-19-related delays.
Kris Jones, Community Partnerships Manager at RSPCA Victoria, says that Protective Custody Foster Care is a lifeline for animals who would otherwise spend extended periods of time in RSPCA Victoria shelters. It is the only program of its kind in Victoria and it gives foster carers a unique opportunity to play an active role in the fight against animal cruelty.RSPCA Victoria has hundreds of animals that urgently need new homes – the New Year New Home promotion running from Friday 8 to Monday 11 January 2021 is reducing adoption fees for adult cats and rabbits to just $21 to help find them loving homes.
As many Victorians commence the new year with the ongoing option to work from home, for those considering adding a pet to their family, now is the perfect time to adopt. RSPCA Victoria’s New Year New Home will mean the sound of new paws in many homes around the state.
RSPCA Victoria ‘s CEO, Dr Liz Walker, says the adoption campaign is the perfect chance to give a little love to the animals who aren’t always in the spotlight.
“Cats and rabbits are often misunderstood creatures. We hope New Year New Home encourages the adoption of these terrific animals so more people can experience the joy, companionship and affection they offer,” says Dr Walker.
“We’ve found these types of adoption campaigns to be very successful in the past. This is a perfect time of year to welcome a new animal into your home. Many Victorians will spend the first part of January on holidays, giving them lots of time to help their new family member settle in.”
RSPCA Victoria assures the community the adoption process will not change at all during New Year New Home apart from the reduced cost. RSPCA Victoria’s adoption process matches animals and people, ensuring all animals go to the best suited home with an appropriate environment. The process is tried and tested, based on certain criteria such as space, work schedules and whether there are children or existing animals in the home.
Studies have shown that there is no difference in the care provided for an animal whether adopted through a fee-waiver program or for a fee.
New Year New Home Fast Facts
As always, the safety and well-being of our visitors, staff, volunteers and the community remains our top priority. Animal adoption at RSPCA Victoria remains via online application, visit rspcavic.org/adoption to view and apply for animals available for adoption. Adoption fees for senior cats (over ten years) and senior rabbits (over five years) will continue to be waived as per the normal RSPCA Victoria adoptions process.
All cats and rabbits adopted from RSPCA Victoria are desexed, microchipped and vaccinated to ensure they are ready to start a happy new life and a happy new year.After a successful pilot program earlier this year, RSPCA Victoria’s virtual school holiday program will return in January to teach children about animals. Streamed live from the education barn at RSPCA Victoria, the program commences on Monday 11 January, running through to Friday 22 January, 2021.
The online program provides students with an engaging opportunity to learn from home providing a variety of educational experiences including the opportunity to meet an RSPCA Inspector and time to learn about the life of an RSPCA Victoria Veterinarian and plenty of at home activities to keep young animal lovers entertained this summer.
The program is designed for children between seven and 14 years of age and is jam-packed with exclusive content, including a live virtual excursion to meet the animals of the RSPCA Victoria barn and hear the stories about how they came to be part of the RSPCA Victoria team.
Participants will learn what makes horses unique and discover what farm animals have in common with household pets. A special segment on little animals with big personalities will reveal fun facts about rabbits and guinea pigs.
Running daily for one hour the blended learning model is an adaptation of RSPCA Victoria’s regular school holiday program, which typically sees over 1,000 young animal lovers visit the Education Centre every year. The online format was created in response to COVID-19 restrictions, with students tuning in each day to learn about animals and distract themselves from Victoria’s lockdown.
Belinda Marchbank, RSPCA Victoria’s Education Officer, said that the program aims to educate students about good animal welfare through fun activities and videos and meeting some of the staff and education animals that make up the RSPCA Victoria family.
“The online school holidays program keeps our regular students connected with the animals at RSPCA Victoria, while at the same provides the opportunity for children living outside the city to participate.
“This is especially relevant to children who love animals but previously haven’t had the opportunity to travel to our Education Centre in Burwood East,” said Ms Marchbank.
Fast Facts:
·
Running
from 11
January to Friday 22 January 2021
·
Sessions will run for approximately 1 hour per day
and will start at 10.30am.
·
Register for one week of daily sessions for $35 or
both weeks for $60
·
Includes
a live virtual barn excursion to meet the animals
·
Interviews
with an RSPCA Victoria veterinarian and Inspector
·
Opportunity
to ask questions of experts and interact with other participants
·
Worksheets
and recipes
·
Sign up for the program at rspcavic.org/schoolholidays
| RSPCA Victoria is looking out for animals like Lucy and Marley this summer with a new state-wide campaign targeting three of the most reported cruelty concerns during the hotter months. The campaign comes just as the World Meteorological Organisation announced that 2020 is on track to be one of three warmest years on record. Data collected over the past seven years shows that cruelty reports have peaked every January with more than 45 reports per day. This compares to approximately 26 reports per day in the winter months of June, July and August. Reports related to dogs without shelter or water, dogs left in hot cars or potential abandonment of an animal account for 27.94% of reports made to RSPCA Victoria’s Inspectorate since 2014. Lucy and Marley were two such dogs. A concerned member of the public made a report to RSPCA Victoria’s Inspectorate after discovering Lucy and her sister Marley abandoned on a property, in the middle of summer, with no water and no shelter. RSPCA Victoria vets said the dogs were incredibly emaciated, Lucy with a body score of 1.5 and Marley with a body score of just one out of five. One more week left alone and they would have died. RSPCA Victoria is imploring people to consider not only the responsibility they have to their pet, but how quickly things can turn to tragedy in the hotter months. “Stories like Lucy and Marley’s are incredibly common. But not all of them have a happy ending,” said Rebecca Cook, Head of Prevention at RSPCA Victoria. “Every year we see the same trend. As soon as the weather warms up, reports of animal cruelty and neglect to our Inspectorate skyrocket. And the saddest part is that it’s entirely preventable.” “It takes just six minutes for a dog to die in a hot car. Temperatures can double within moments and what seems like an innocent trip to the supermarket can have a devastating outcome when pet owners leave their pets unattended during the heat of the summer.” This summer, RSPCA Victoria is asking people to do three simple things:
A comprehensive digital and radio campaign will support out-of-home advertising across the state. It’s the largest state-wide advertising campaign the charity has ever run, highlighting the scale and severity of the issue the organisation faces. For more information on RSPCA Victoria’s summer campaign visit www.rspcavic.org/summer. |
RSPCA Victoria is reminding pet owners of their legal and moral obligations to look after their animals, after Inspectors uncovered a pet dog in a severe state of emaciation earlier this month.
An Inspector visited a property in the south-east suburbs in response to a report of concern for a dog’s welfare. On arrival, a four-year-old German Shepherd named Bobby was found acutely emaciated and in ill-health.
After successfully negotiating the dog’s surrender, Bobby was taken to RSPCA Victoria’s Burwood East clinic where the veterinary team provided emergency care and pain relief.
With a body condition score of just one out of five (1/5), Bobby was emaciated, covered in ulcerative lesions with secondary infection and presented with swollen hind limbs. He had acute muscle wastage and was in severe pain, with one ulcer over his left hip creating a hole so deep that it extended down to the joint capsule.
RSPCA Victoria’s vets did all they could to alleviate the dog’s pain and suffering, however given his dire condition and poor prognosis, the difficult decision was made to humanely euthanase him.
RSPCA Victoria Inspectorate Team Leader, Stuart Marchesani, said it was unacceptable to leave an animal to suffer in the manner Bobby would have experienced.
“It doesn’t take days or even weeks for an animal to deteriorate to this sort of condition, this is gross neglect that has gone on for months and months. Sadly, Bobby would have been in significant pain and discomfort for a long time before we found him. It’s a particularly distressing case as he was only four years old,” Mr Marchesani said.
“All pet owners must take full responsibility for the animals in their care and, if they are no longer able to provide adequate care, we urge them to talk to RSPCA Victoria about their options.
“There is no excuse for animal neglect and those found guilty under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act face fines up to $82,610 and two years' imprisonment."
The case is still under investigation by RSPCA Victoria’s Inspectorate and no further information can be released at this time.
Anyone who has concerns for the welfare of an animal is encouraged to contact RSPCA Victoria on 9224 2222 or at rspcavic.org.
***WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES BELOW***
Today an Animal Justice Party motion was passed in Parliament calling on the Victorian Government to make changes to the way animal shelters, pounds and rescue groups operate.
As a socially conscious shelter, RSPCA Victoria believes transparency, collaboration and continuous improvement of standards are vital to ensure all animals are treated humanely and live a good life.
Prior to today, RSPCA Victoria provided feedback to the Animal Justice Party on its proposal. We are particularly pleased to see that our recommendation to introduce regulation of rescue groups has been included, to ensure all animal care groups are transparent and adhere to the same standards.
The motion included five key proposals, many of which are already implemented or supported by RSPCA Victoria. We look forward to working with the Victoria Government and other stakeholders to address these proposals, which are set out in more detail below.
Publicly reporting statistics such as animal intake, animals rehomed and animals euthanased is essential for shelters to ensure transparency and community confidence. Currently, the Code of Practice for the Management of Dogs and Cats in Shelters and Pounds does not require mandatory reporting of these statistics. However, many reputable animal shelters, including RSPCA Victoria, consider this reporting to be best practice and supply the public with these statistics as part of annual reporting. A full breakdown of RSPCA Victoria’s euthanasia statistics is available on our website here.
Rescue groups are an important part of reducing companion animal homelessness in Victoria. RSPCA Victoria actively works with 29 reputable rescue groups and in 2018/19 rehomed 840 animals through these partners. RSPCA Victoria will always seek the best outcomes for animals in our care, which includes rehoming animals to rescue groups.
RSPCA Victoria has found that working directly with the community can have the greatest impact in increasing responsible ownership of animals. Recently, RSPCA Victoria ran a pilot project in one local government area, Latrobe City, to develop a deeper understanding of the drivers of animal cruelty and neglect, identify barriers to good animal welfare practices and pilot prevention initiatives. This aimed to both reduce cruelty and neglect in the target region and develop successful intervention models to be applied in other regions across Victoria.
Since the official launch on 12 February 2020, the pilot has directly supported over 408 individual animals with vet care, behavioural and health advice and the provision of food and flea and worming treatment. Our Community Liaison Officer, has had over 700 interactions with members of the community by phone, face to face and email. Initial data shows that most requests were for assistance with desexing (250). In addition, over 200 bags of pet food, 27 kennels and cat carriers, 482 individual flea and worming products have been distributed in the Latrobe community. Working directly with the community and providing free animal care services had very high engagement.
RSPCA Australia developed the Identifying Best Practice Domestic Cat Management in Australia report in 2018 which recommended that a research study should be conducted to evaluate whether, and under what specific circumstances, a program of trap, desex, adopt or return and support (TDARS) is an appropriate tool for urban cat management under Australian conditions.
Prior to the 2018 state election, RSPCA Victoria successfully advocated for registered pets to be directly reunited with their owners. We were pleased to secure bipartisan support to amend section 84D of the Domestic Animals Act 1994 to allow veterinarians and animal shelters to reunite registered and microchipped animals with their owners without the requirement for a section 84Y agreement.
We believe that enabling vet clinics and animal shelters to directly reunite animals with their owners without the need for an 84Y agreement with local councils would reduce the period of separation, avoid additional transferring of the animal, reduce the load on pounds and potentially lower rates of euthanasia. This will have a positive welfare impact for animals found wandering, while also providing further benefits of pet registration and lower operational costs for local councils.
|
19/20 |
18/19 |
|
|
Instances of animals with insufficient food, water or
shelter |
6,044 |
6,672 |
|
Concerns about hygiene, grooming and housing conditions |
3,887 |
3,706 |
|
Reports of underweight animals |
2,862 |
3,274 |
|
Sick and injured animals not receiving veterinary
treatment |
2,559 |
2,799 |
|
Concerns about animals being beaten or wounded |
1,467 |
1,310 |
|
Instances of abandoned animals |
1,172 |
1,232 |
Note: Many of the reports received by RSPCA Victoria in 2019-20 included allegations of multiple offences involving multiple animals, hence the total number of concerns exceeding the 10,745 reports.
Dr Walker noted that RSPCA Victoria relies heavily on the public to report concerns regarding animal cruelty and neglect.Reports by local government area
Rankings by number of reports
| 2019-20 ranking | 2019-20 reports | Local government area | 2018-19 ranking | 2018-19 reports | 2017-18 ranking | 2017-18 reports |
| 1 | 581 | Casey City Council | 2 | 561 | 2 | 462 |
| 2 | 561 | Greater Geelong City Council | 1 | 617 | 1 | 559 |
| 3 | 374 | Hume City Council | 3 | 410 | 3 | 376 |
| 4 | 344 | Whittlesea City Council | 5 | 383 | 10 | 311 |
| 5 | 338 | Melton Shire Council | 6 | 375 | 7 | 325 |
| 6 | 338 | Frankston City Council | 10 | 315 | 4 | 350 |
| 7 | 333 | Latrobe City Council | 12 | 310 | 11 | 305 |
| 8 | 328 | Wyndham City Council | 7 | 364 | 13 | 291 |
| 9 | 320 | City of Greater Bendigo | 4 | 393 | 6 | 333 |
| 10 | 303 | Mornington Peninsula Shire Council | 13 | 300 | 9 | 322 |
Rankings
by Reports per capita
|
2019-20
Ranking |
2019-20
Per capita |
Area |
2018-19
Ranking |
2018-19
Per capita |
2017-18
Ranking |
2017-18
|
|
1 |
1:144 |
Pyrenees
Shire Council |
1 |
1 : 101 |
5 |
1: 223 |
|
2 |
1:179 |
Hepburn
Shire Council |
3 |
1
: 180 |
1 |
1
: 157 |
|
3 |
1:208 |
Loddon
Shire Council |
2 |
1 : 139 |
11 |
1
: 289 |
|
4 |
1:223 |
Corangamite
Shire Council |
15 |
1
: 274 |
7 |
1
: 248 |
|
5 |
1:227 |
Latrobe
City Council |
8 |
1 : 243 |
6 |
1
: 247 |
|
6 |
1:263 |
Mitchell
Shire Council |
16 |
1;
277 |
12 |
1
: 290 |
|
7 |
1:265 |
Rural
City of Wangaratta |
19 |
1
; 288 |
26 |
1
: 388 |
|
8 |
1:283 |
Moyne
Shire Council |
12 |
1
; 260 |
18 |
1
: 345 |
|
9 |
1:289 |
Yarriambiack
Shire Council |
31 |
370 |
23 |
1
: 370 |
|
10 |
1:290 |
Wellington
Shire Council |
13 |
260 |
24 |
1
: 370 |
For
further details regarding cruelty statistics for a specific council area,
please contact RSPCA Victoria’s Media Team.
About
this data
·
Many of the 10,745 reports received by
RSPCA Victoria in 2019-20 included allegations of multiple offences involving
multiple animals.
·
Not every report contains a
substantiated offence. Some reports involve concerns that do not meet the
threshold for an offence in Victoria, and others were not substantiated through
investigation.
·
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.
About
RSPCA Victoria’s Inspectorate
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.
