There was one animal cruelty report for every 155 people in Hepburn Shire in 2017-18, according RSPCA Victoria’s state-wide animal cruelty report data released on Monday, adding up to 108 reports in total. 

Eganstown animal welfare advocate Bev Hardenberg said she was ‘shocked’ and ‘concerned’ by the number of animals in Hepburn Shire that needed help.

RSPCA chief executive Dr Liz Walker said there was a lot of work to be done to educate and improve animal welfare in communities.

“It breaks our hearts to see our inspectors and vets attend to so many animals that are severely malnourished and ill, who clearly haven’t been shown even the most basic level of care,” Dr Walker said. 

Welfare concerns for dogs, cats and horses made up the majority of animals reported to RSPCA Victoria.

More than 6000 reports involved dogs and puppies, while 1,634 were for cats and kittens and 1,468 for horses in Victoria. 

Horse Shepherd Equine Sanctuary in Gordon cares for unwanted, injured, and vulnerable horses and ponies.

President Anne Young said Victorians will face a growing problem with cruelty to horses as the drought worsens. 

“The majority of cruelty cases with horses is ignorance and neglect. It is people just not understanding the needs of a herd animal and the expenses that come with having a horse,” she said.

“We are really concerned about the drought situation because the price of food is going up significantly and we just know people can’t afford to keep the horses they have got, and there are not a lot of options. 

“There will be more and more skinny horses, more horses at the sales and more horses going for human consumption, but sadly there will be some owners that just don’t face up to it and their horses will be left to starve in paddocks.”

The Horse Shepherd Equine Sanctuary currently cares for 130 horses, with around half from the Ballarat region.

Instances of animals with insufficient food, water or shelter were the most highly reported offences throughout Victoria. 

There were 58 reports of animals with insufficient food, water or shelter in Hepburn Shire in 2017-18, 50 with concerns about hygiene, grooming and housing conditions and 27 reports of underweight animals. 

A local animal welfare advocate from Hepburn Shire encouraged people to report instances of animal cruelty. 

“You might be the only person who does. What you walk past is the standard you expect,” she said. 

She questioned whether cruelty was highly reported in Hepburn Shire compared to other areas, or if there were high rates of cruelty. 

Hepburn Shire chief executive Evan King said the number of reports of alleged cruelty in the shire was indicative of the strong stance the community takes on the issue.

Cases of alleged animal cruelty reported to or identified by Hepburn Shire Council are referred to the RSPCA.

“Council has worked closely supporting the RSPCA on a number of occasions over the last year to remove animals from properties within the shire,” Mr King said. 

City of Ballarat director infrastructure and environment Terry Demeo said the RSPCA figures show the Ballarat community remains vigilant in reporting instances of suspected animal cruelty.

“It's also worth noting that the RSPCA's online reporting system makes its easy for community members to notify about suspected cruelty cases,” he said. 

“Guided by our Domestic Animal Management Plan and through the work we do at the Animal Shelter, the City of Ballarat will continue to promote the principles of responsible pet ownership to the local community.” 

Update note, November 27: The RSPCA found an error in statistics which showed Ballarat ranked 14^th worst in the state for animal cruelty reports, not third as previously stated. In 2017-18, 269 animal cruelty reports were made in Ballarat. 

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