Low-life acts: Animal neglect perpetrators named and shamed
From dogs starved into a skeletal state and animals left to die in garages, many pet owners are failing an obligation to properly look after the needs that creatures depend on for survival.
Cairns
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FROM dogs starved into a skeletal state and animals left to die in garages, many Far North pet owners are failing an obligation to properly look after the needs that creatures depend on for survival.
The RSPCA investigated 16,331 animal welfare complaints in 2021 compared to 17,146 complaints in 2020. In 2019 the number of complaints was 18,681.
For the second consecutive year Edmonton has topped the list of complaints.
RSPCA inspectors investigate a wide range of animal welfare concerns every year including not providing the basics for their pets such as food, shelter, water, not providing veterinary treatment when needed, leaving pets tied up, dogs left in cars, abandoned animals and sometimes animal cruelty.
RSPCA spokeswoman Emma Lagoon said people not understanding preventive pet care, a lack of finances and inability to manage could all contribute to owners mistreating animals.
“And unfortunately, we do still encounter people lacking empathy for animals which leads to neglect and cruelty,” she said.
“Owning a pet is a privilege, not a right. Animals are sentient beings and feel pain as do you or I, so we should be treating them with the respect they deserve.
“Every pet owner has a duty of care towards their animals and that includes providing appropriate food, water, shelter and medical treatment just to name a few. Animal owners failing to meet their obligations to care for their animals appropriately can be prosecuted under the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001.
“If you do need help with an animal, please reach out for help before it’s too late for that animal.”
If community members have an animal welfare concern they can report it directly to the RSPCA via 1300 ANIMAL (1300 264 625) for emergencies or by using the form online for all other concerns.
Trolling back through the archives, the following is a list of some of the Far North’s worst animal neglect cases to come before the Cairns courts and how the law has dealt with these heartbreaking and low-life acts perpetrated on the innocent.
DOG OWNER IN COURT
RSPCA inspectors responded to an anonymous tip about the skeletal state of Charlie, a nine-and-a-half-year-old American Bulldog cross Bull Arab in May 2018.
Edward John Fitzgerald pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to treat his dog under the Animal Care and Protection Act.
Magistrate Catherine Benson said Fitzgerald had failed Charlie by not taking her to a vet when she began to lose weight despite his own self-diagnosis.
She said his delay caused the pup prolonged suffering that was completely unnecessary.
Ms Benson fined Fitzgerald $1300, ordered he pay $650 to the RSPCA and $250 in vet fees plus costs.
Fitzgerald was banned from owning a dog for two years.
BAG USED TO SUFFOCATE DOG
A so called “animal lover” used a plastic bag to suffocate a one-year-old dog in 2020 after it suffered significant injuries because he could not afford proper treatment.
Yarrabah man Christopher Sammons pleaded guilty to one count each of animal cruelty and failing to provide appropriate treatment to an animal suffering injuries in the Cairns Magistrates Court.
In November 2020 Magistrate Terrence Browne sentenced Sammons to 12 months in jail with a non-parole period of four months and prohibited him from owning an animal for life unless approved by the RSPCA.
Mr Browne said the facts were “cruel” and “very disturbing whether they are animal lovers or not”.
RAGDOLL GUCCI ATTACKED
In 2019, sickening photos revealed injuries to a pet cat named Gucci after a vicious attack by its owner Brayden James Blair.
Blair regularly beat the male ragdoll – most recently with such force that one of Gucci’s eyes popped out of its socket because the animal soiled in his room.
He didn’t seek treatment for the animal.
Blair sobbed as he was given a three-month suspended jail term after pleading guilty in the Innisfail Magistrates Court to animal cruelty.
He was also banned from owning any animal for five years and ordered to pay $1743.41 in costs.
WOREE DOGS SEIZED
A litter of starved dogs required RSPCA intervention at a Woree address in 2019.
The dogs were taken from their owner and seized by the animal welfare organisation in a severely emaciated state.
RSPCA Queensland chief inspector Daniel Young said at the time there was no excuse for pet owners to neglect their animals and people who did leave their animals to become emaciated would face serious legal ramifications.
“Failure to provide adequate food, water and shelter is an offence and carries a maximum term of imprisonment of one year and a fine of over $30,000. If you are feeding your animal and it is still losing condition, you need to take it to a vet,” he said.
Caterina Armanelli and Adam Manfield were charged by the RSPCA with failing to provide medical care and food and water.
“The dog looks like a skeleton — it was appalling treatment of the animal,” Magistrate Joe Pinder said.
“She failed every moral test and obligation as a pet owner.”
The pair were fined $3000 each and prohibited from owning animals for two years.
HORRIFIC CHIHUAHUA NEGLECT
Horrific images of a chihuahua with an untreated infection so bad its right eye is exposed were released by the RSPCA.
It is one of the most shocking cases of animal negligence that Far Northern inspectors attended in 2018.
Far North RSPCA regional inspector Ben Newman said the chihuahua found wandering in Bentley Park had been a “horrendous” case.
“The dog’s just been left there to suffer for months on end to a point that we got called out and had to have the dog put to sleep on humane grounds,” Mr Newman said.
“There are alternatives to letting the animal suffer until it dies or we get called out.
“It’s just disappointing that it always comes down to finance and money.
“It’s not an excuse to just let the dog suffer without any treatment.”
PIG DOG MAULING
An ice addict whose pig hunting dogs violently mauled a beloved pet horse named Solar to the point it needed to be euthanised will never be allowed to own an animal again.
In 2021 Rhys Wayne Wilson, 29, was asleep in his car beside a Wrights Creek field when his two dogs, wearing full pig hunting vests, escaped their cage and attacked Solar in a nearby field, leaving him bleeding profusely from deep lacerations to his throat, jaw and flanks.
Despite the efforts of witnesses who fought off the dog and tried to stop the bleeding, the horse was humanely euthanised by a vet.
Along with unlawfully maiming a horse, Wilson also pleaded guilty to evade police, unlicensed driving and drug and utensil possession. He was handed a 12-month jail sentence by Magistrate Cathy McLennan.
In April 2021 Mr Wilson lodged an appeal in the Cairns District Court on the grounds the sentence was “manifestly excessive”.
YARRABAH DOG NEGLECT
Disturbing images of starving, deformed, tick ridden and bleeding dogs rescued from small and remote communities in Far North Queensland prompted a call for action in 2019.
Lyn Dadd visits small and remote communities to find ‘bush dogs’ in need of help and dogs rescued from Yarrabah in December were suffering from shocking neglect.
“Come on something has got to give. Handing those dying pups back has broken my heart,” she said.
“It takes a toll on my health and heart, it just doesn’t stop day in, day out.”
Ms Dadd, through her Facebook page FNQ Bush Dogs and Pups, called on authorities to step in and address the ongoing mistreatment of animals.
BULL TERRIER DEATH
The man accused of stabbing to death a bull terrier pup bolted from the Cairns courthouse in 2017 in an attempt to avoid a group of protesters.
Matthew Page, 42, was given a three-month suspended sentence after pleading guilty to killing Jasmine Laird’s six-month-old bull terrier Aussie.
The dog suffered a stab wound to the liver and could not be saved.
Magistrate Kevin Priestly said Ms Laird and her family had submitted a victim impact statement describing the affect of the dog’s death. “It summarises the pain and anguish that the family has suffered as a result of their beloved pet dog being killed and the impact on the children,” he said.
Page received a suspended jail sentence, he has also been ordered to compensate Ms Laird $1800 for the cost of Aussie.
DOG ON DOG ATTACK
A Far North couple who left their dog alone in a garage, unable to walk or move and with unwashed wounds, for two days following a brutal attack were dealt with by the courts in 2018.
Convictions were recorded against Wes Viti and Shayleen Goltz, but they are still allowed to keep other pets.
Confronting images show the extent of the injuries, which included a fractured neck, paralysis and an open wound.
Rather than take him to a vet, they moved Shredder to their garage where he lay immobile for two days.
They did not seek any treatment until directed by the RSPCA because Goltz said they did not have any money.
The pair pleaded guilty in the Tully Magistrates Court to animal negligence. They were each convicted and fined $3000, to be paid through SPER, with 50 per cent going to the RSPCA as well as $1549.10 in costs.
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