Every day across Victoria, animals are starved, beaten, abandoned and even deliberately tortured. Yet the people responsible often walk away with fines, warnings, or no punishment at all. Even in the most shocking cases, offenders face little more than a fine. That’s not justice. That’s betrayal.

This cruelty won’t stop until the consequences are real.

Recent cases include:

• Deliberate wildlife killings: Four kangaroos shot and killed in a “thrill kill” near Cardinia Reservoir, leaving an orphaned joey.
• Horrific neglect of cats: A banned Ararat offender found with 53 cats in poor health. This was just one instance of more than 380 animals seized from them since 2014.
• Dog abuse caught on camera: A South Melbourne man filmed violently abusing dogs. He received a $750 fine and a short ownership ban.
• Starving horses: Reports of horse neglect have surged by 53%, with more than 8,100 horses affected. Many were found emaciated and suffering in paddocks.
• Dog attacks on wildlife: A man in northeast Victoria filmed himself encouraging his dogs to maul wildlife. He avoided jail with a correction order.
• Mass livestock cruelty: Authorities seized 55 sheep in Broomfield (unshorn for years), 52 cattle in Murrayville (many died from hunger) and 441 cattle in Balmattum (severe neglect)
• Bogged and dying cattle: A Kallista couple were only fined $2000 each after cattle were found suffering in deep mud and with untreated injuries, requiring euthanasia.

These cases are not outliers. They are a snapshot of a broken system.

It’s time for the Victorian Government to treat animal abuse as the serious crime it is and finally deliver the strong penalties that reflect the public’s outrage.

*photo of emaciated horse courtesy of the RSPCA