RSPCA Victoria may have to stop investigating some reports of cruelty

The RSPCA Victoria has warned that, unless the state government increases its support, it may be forced to reduce operations—leaving cruelty “unchecked” amid an animal welfare crisis

The RSPCA says it will be forced to scale back its operations and stop investigating reports of cruelty to horses, poultry and livestock without urgent government funding.

Ahead of next week’s state budget, the organisation has warned that unless it receives a sufficient financial boost, its Inspectorate team won’t be able to respond to all cases and that “cruelty towards horses will be left unchecked”.

The state government currently provides RSPCA Victoria with $2.3m per year, but that only covers one fifth of its Inspectorate costs, which are forecast to be $10.8m this financial year.

RSPCA Victoria CEO Liz Walker said that her team of 28 Inspectors are drowning as they attempt to investigate the more than 10,000 reports of cruelty across the state.

“In addition to existing safety concerns for our Inspectors, without sufficient funding sadly we will likely need to restrict the species of animal we investigate, rehabilitate and rehome, removing horses, poultry, and livestock from our scope of work,” Dr Walker said.

The RSPCA would be forced to stop investigating reports of cruelty toward horses. Picture: Tony Gough

“While we’re incredibly grateful for the funding we receive annually, and the additional one-off boost of $2.5 million received this financial year, this barely makes a dent in the amount it costs keep our inspectors on the road and to care and rehabilitate the animals coming in through the Inspectorate.

“Our inspectors are the only authorised officers under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act who currently enforce and prosecute horse welfare in the state and with horses not currently covered by local laws, without other law enforcement agencies picking it up, neglect and cruelty towards horses will be left unchecked across the state.”

The warning comes amid a welfare crisis which has seen the RSPCA receive animal cruelty reports about more than 8100 horses this financial year.

More than 800 horses are still involved in active investigations and it’s feared that number will only grow due to a lack of rainfall making feed increasingly scarce alongside usual cost-of-living pressures.

RSPCA Victoria Chief Inspector Michelle Green said this financial year alone has recorded a 53 per cent increase in the number of horses involved in animal cruelty reports.

Mount Eliza local protested about the neglect of horses on a local property. Picture: Tony Gough

“This year we have already taken in 183 horses, with more than 60 horses still in our care, with the majority at various agistments across the state due to the limited capacity at our shelter,” she said.

“Caring for these horses comes at a cost with each horse estimated to remain under our care for an average of 120 days, costing nearly $50 per day per horse.”

The Herald Sun last month revealed a huge stoush had erupted between animal lovers and the RSPCA over the alleged neglect of 30 horses on the Mornington Peninsula.

Locals say they had been reporting horses being starved and mistreated to the animal welfare charity since 2017 but without any action being taken.

But Ms Green said under current legislation there is often no legal basis for the RSPCA to seize animals.

“We understand people get extremely concerned when they see unwell horses, and want to see immediate removal of animals, however it’s not always possible and these cases can often take months to resolve, and we also need to hold owners to account,” she said.

Report animal welfare concerns: rspcavic.org/cruelty-report or call 03 9224 2222.

Originally published as RSPCA Victoria may have to stop investigating some reports of cruelty