A 66-year-old woman and 61-year-old man have each been charged with 23 counts of animal cruelty over an alleged Pomeranian puppy farm operation.
They were charged following the discovery of 50 animals in ill-health at their Southern River property.
An RSPCA WA inspector attended the property in July after receiving a cruelty report from a WA Police Detective alleging a large number of small breed dogs in 'poor condition' at the couple's home. The female accused told the inspector she was a commercial dog breeder and owned all of the dogs but was unsure how many she had.
The inspector noted a strong smell of faeces as she approached the large kennel block on the property and saw a build-up of dog faeces in the drains outside of the kennels. Multiple Pomeranians were confined in the kennels either by themselves or in groups of up to four and they had dirty, matted coats.
There was a large bucket of water inside each kennel, however, there was urine covering the floors, the drains at the back of the kennels were clogged with fur and faeces, and the dogs only had access to hard plastic beds without any bedding.
Some of the dogs appeared to have significant dental disease or were in poor body condition, some were spinning inside their kennels which indicated concerning neurological conditions, and some were extremely fearful and displayed abnormal psychological behavioural reactions to the inspector's presence.
The inspector approximated there were 42 dogs – including two terrier-type dogs and a Chihuahua – at the property, three cats, three chickens, and two deceased roosters.
The accused advised she was unsure of the last time the dogs had been seen by a vet and she checked on the animals 'every day' but had not checked on the kennels yet that week nor fed them since the day before.
Seven of the animals were surrendered to RSPCA WA that day and the accused advised she would take the remainder to the vet, however, she did not and the remaining animals were all either seized or surrendered days later.
RSPCA WA vets examined all animals from the property, and they presented with a myriad of health problems related to their alleged ill-treatment. All animals have either been adopted or continue to recover in foster care.
The accused have each been charged under sections 19(1), 19(3)(b)(ii), 19(3)(d), and 19(3)(h) of the Animal Welfare Act 2002. RSPCA WA will allege they were cruel to the animals in that they did not provide them with sufficient food and water and could have alleviated their harm by taking reasonable steps.
The maximum penalty for a charge of animal cruelty is a $50,000 fine and five years in prison.
The matter will be heard on 13 December at Armadale Magistrates Court.
The RSPCA relies on the community to report incidents of suspected cruelty and neglect. Report cruelty 24/7 on 1300 CRUELTY (1300 278 358) or at rspcawa.org.au.
