Ipswich animal hoarders prosecuted by RSPCA

A man found with almost 80 cats and kittens and a woman found with almost 80 dogs are among the animal hoarders being targeted by the RSPCA with tens of thousands of dollars in fines issued.

As part of its key role of providing care and finding new homes for neglected animals, the RSPCA is also responsible for the sometimes grim task of identifying and prosecuting pet owners whose collections of animals has spiralled out of control.

Pet owners or breeders who hoard animals to the point that they can no longer provide proper care and the animals live in squalor can find themselves before the courts.

Some of the cases of animal hoarding in Ipswich that have horrified RSPCA inspectors and vets in recent times include a man found with nearly 80 cats and kittens.

Cats were found living in their own faeces at two different Ipswich homes.

In November last year, Michael John Grembowski, 54, from Goodna, was ordered to pay the RSPCA more than $30,000 in costs after he pleaded guilty in Ipswich Magistrates Court to 21 charges under animal welfare legislation including failing to provide appropriate living conditions, failing to properly supply water and food, and failing to treat their medical ailments.

Cats were found living in their own faeces at two different Ipswich homes.

The court heard Grembowski collected dozens of stray cats and kittens.

Inspectors found 77 cats and kittens living in mounds of their own faeces, suffering fleas and tapeworm, at houses in Redbank Plains and Gailes.

Cats were found living in their own faeces at two different Ipswich homes.

The court heard Grembowski was collecting stray and feral cats that were coming into his Gailes property.

He at first put them into a chicken coop, but things soon got out of hand, with the RSPCA stepping in.

Grembowski was sentenced to a 12-month probation order, with no conviction recorded.

He was ordered to pay more than $30,000 in RSPCA costs, and prohibited from having animals for five years.

Michael John Grembowski was charged after inspectors found a total of 77 cats living in squalor at two separate homes.

In another case in Ipswich, dog lover and breeder Rebecca Cox was overwhelmed when the number of German Shepherds on her property grew to more than 80.

Cox was found with the dogs at a rural Mount Tarampa property when RSPCA inspectors attended in 2019.

Rebecca Cox leaves Ipswich Courthouse.

When the case was finalised in October last year the court heard that Cox had worked hard with the RSPCA to solve the problems identified, and she was able to continue her business with fewer dogs.

“Simply she had too many dogs,” the RSPCA prosecutor said in court.

Going before Ipswich Magistrates Court, Rebecca Dawn Cox, 38, pleaded guilty to three offences that she failed to provide appropriate living conditions between January 16, 2019 and March 27, 2019; failed to provide appropriate treatment; and failed to comply with an animal welfare direction.

Cox was then the owner and person in charge of 84 German Shepherd dogs and puppies, 10 horses, four poodle dogs, and one cat.

Her legal counsel Justin Thomas told the court Cox had been a registered breeder for 12 years and it had not been deliberate neglect but she had overloaded herself with too many animals.

“She is a person with genuine interest in animal welfare,” Mr Thomas said.

“It was not a case of deliberate disregard. She simply overloaded herself with work.”

The magistrate noted her high degree of cooperation with the RSPCA and fined Cox $1500. No conviction was recorded.

Ipswich horse breeder and trainer Patricia Arnold pleaded guilty to two RSPCA charges of animal neglect after some of her horses were found living in poor conditions.

A horse found living in poor conditions at the property of Patricia Arnold.

The RSPCA prosecution case stated 50 horses were found on her property.

The horses were primarily thoroughbreds with some Anglo Arab types, and three became the focus of the charges.

Concerns about some horses being underweight, some not having adequate shelter, and one with an ulcerated eye were also raised.

The court heard a mare was put down at the time.

A horse found living in poor conditions at the property of Patricia Arnold.

The Ipswich Magistrates Court in March heard some of her animals had eye infections, one foal was found with a broken shoulder, while another horse was found lying in muddy urine and faeces, with her coat covered in mud.

The neglect was attributed to the breeder’s struggling financial situation and having too many animals.

A magistrate found it was not deliberate, “but arose in your incapacity (to provide) with the number of horses and not having financial means.”

Arnold was sentenced to a two-year probation order. No conviction was recorded.

Patricia Arnold leaves Ipswich Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to animal neglect charges.

When it comes to hoarding in general, Ipswich City Council says its environmental health officers work in with other service and support providers, to support the hoarder by development of a ‘Wellness Recovery Action Plan’, known as ‘WRAP’ and used worldwide by assisting a person though the recovery process.

While Ipswich may appear not to have a major hoarding problem, a council spokesman noted that recent Australian population research estimates more than 600,000 people (2.6 per cent) may suffer from a hoarding disorder.

The Ipswich City Council received 38 complaints in the past decade that were hoarding and squalor related.

The council spokesman said that when Council receives a complaint about hoarding or squalor its officers will conduct a site visit to determine compliance with the Public Health Act.

If public health risks are identified – and provided that the owner or responsible person is willing to provide their written consent – a referral of their case may be made to a support service and member of the Ipswich and West Moreton Hoarding and Squalor Action Group.

Council may issue a public health order requiring remedial works to be completed within a specified time frame – if works are not completed within this time frame then the council may take further action,

Ipswich suburbs to get complaints about hoarders

2021: Eastern Heights.

2020: Leichhardt, Goodna, Bundamba, Ebbw Vale, Raceview, and Eastern Heights.

2019: Tivoli, Willowbank, and Redbank Plains.

2017: Wulkuraka, One Mile, North Ipswich, Bellbird Park, Goodna, and Riverview.

2016: Silkstone x2, Ipswich, Goodna, One Mile, Bundamba, and East Ipswich.

2015: Rosewood, and Bundamba.

2014: Booval, and East Ipswich.

2013: Rosewood x3, Karalee, Walloon, Redbank Plains, Ipswich, North Booval, and Sadliers Crossing.

2012: Goodna.

2011: Sadliers Crossing.