Animal welfare advocates say the ongoing cost of living crisis is driving an alarming increase in animal cruelty.
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The number of animals seized or surrendered to the RSPCA in Victoria has increased for the sixth year in a row, with the organisation having investigated more than 10,000 reports of animal cruelty in the past 12 months.
Cost of living bites pet owners
The RSPCA Victoria today revealed which areas of Victoria had the most animal cruelty reports in the 2022/2023 financial year, with the local government area of Melton identified as the state's animal cruelty hotspot.
The council areas of Latrobe, Ararat, Wellington and Hume were followed as other hot spots.
The most common type of cruelty report concerned insufficient water, food, or shelter with 2,569 animals surrendered or seized in the last year due to their living conditions.
The RSPCA said the new figures suggest cost of living pressures are affecting pet owner's ability to care for their animals.
"Many people also became first-time pet owners during the pandemic and may need further information or support to help them understand how to care for their animals such as providing sanitary living conditions, grooming or preventative health measures," RSPCA Victoria's chief inspector Michael Stagg said.
According to MoneySmart in the first year alone, a cat or dog will cost an owner between $3,000 and $6,000.
Cruelty on the rise
RSPCA Victoria forecasts the number of animals coming into its care will reach more than 3,340 by 2027, a 222.7 per cent increase from 2017/18.
"Cost of living pressures may be impacting people's ability to care for their pets, whether it be their ability to provide suitable food or their ability to pay for necessary medical care," Chief Inspector Stagg said of the expected increase.
The top five animals seized or surrendered to the Inspectorate in the last year were dogs, cats, kittens, fowls and rabbits.
Animal surrender data from The Animal Welfare League Queensland found that since the pandemic there has been a 32 per cent increase in surrenders due to homelessness.
IN OTHER NEWS:
The RSPCA received 53,680 cruelty complaints across the country in the 2021 to 2022 financial year.
Just 303 prosecutions for animal cruelty were successful in that period.
In Victoria and NSW a person found guilty of performing an act of cruelty against an animal faces up to one year in prison.
