Every day across Victoria, animals are starved, beaten, abandoned — even deliberately tortured — and the people responsible walk away with fines, warnings, or no punishment at all. Yet even in the most shocking cases, offenders often 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 — one of 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 53%, with over 8,100 horses affected — many 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