One of the most horrific cases of indiscriminate animal hoarding and breeding RSPCA inspectors have ever investigated in South Australia finalised in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court last week.
Two women aged in their sixties (whom RSPCA SA has requested not be named due to concerns for their mental health) have been convicted on animal cruelty offences in relation to 68 animals. The animals were among a total of 111 animals seized from the defendants' mid-north property during two separate attendances in November 2020. The animals seized were:
- 91 dogs and puppies
- 11 cats and kittens
- 5 native birds
- 3 possums
- 1 bettong
The defendants were registered SA breeders up until 30 June last year and previously ran a commercial dog breeding operation. The seized canines were various mixes of popular smaller breeds – Maltese, Miniature Poodle, Silky Terrier, Chihuahua, Shih Tzu, Pomeranian, Papillon and King Charles Cavalier Spaniel. Three were in such poor condition they required humane euthanasia, while others required extensive veterinary treatment for multiple health issues caused by chronic neglect.
The case highlights not only the failure of SA's breeder regulations to stop low-welfare operators, but also the need for a legal reform that RSPCA SA hopes to see introduced when the current review of SA's Animal Welfare Act is completed. If successful, the reform would end the requirement to successfully prosecute animal hoarders to obtain animal ownership prohibition orders. [1]
Responding to a cruelty report on 3 November 2020, RSPCA SA inspectors discovered multiple animals living in squalor at the defendants' property. At least 50 dogs were inside a house, both loose and caged, along with caged cats and native animals, and there was an overwhelming odour of rubbish, faeces and ammonia.
Encrusted and hardened dirt, faeces and hair covered all floors. Dirt extended up walls and over benchtops and heavy cobwebs hung from the ceilings. The house in which the defendants lived with their animals did not have electricity connected to it. The defendants told the inspectors that the house had been subject to flooding sometime in the past.
Inside the first room inspectors entered were a large number of cages and crates stacked on each other. Some contained puppies and one contained a cat and kittens. A second room was piled high with household goods and clothing.
In the kitchen, some dogs were sitting in cupboards and on shelves. Under a table was a small dog unable to move (identified by one of the defendants as "Muffin") with another dog next to it, named Winky, that also appeared to have difficulties moving. On entering another room, a RSPCA inspector found a joey kangaroo in a cloth bag laying on the top of a pet carrier with a possum inside it. In two separate cat cages were two cats that had food and water but no litter trays.
In a back room were more cages and crates containing dogs and cats. In each of two cages were two Pomeranian dogs without adequate bedding or space to exercise. Inside a bathroom was another cat, and separate small cages containing ducklings, a wattle bird that appeared distressed and a magpie with an injured foot.
Enclosed in a rear patio room (a space of approximately 3m 2) were 11 kangaroos, one with a deformed leg, which one of the defendants confirmed had been broken. Outside the house were rows of cages containing birds and large amounts of faeces and spoiled seed.
The inspectors seized the 80 animals of most concern due to living conditions and health issues, being 65 dogs, 11 cats and kittens, a possum, a bettong, the wattle bird and the magpie. Animal Welfare Notices were issued regarding the remaining animals at the property, requiring specific actions within a timeframe to improve their welfare.
Three seriously ill animals the bettong and two dogs, were taken to the Adelaide Emergency Centre (AEC) for immediate assessment, and the veterinary advice was humane euthanasia due to the animals suffering multiple health conditions.
The remaining 77 animals were taken to the Lonsdale shelter and examined by RSPCA SA's vet team over two days, 4-5 November 2020. These examinations revealed:
- 32 dogs had severe dental disease with purulent discharge (pus) and required teeth extraction. Some dogs required all of their teeth to be removed. One of the dogs with dental disease had associated infections which had progressed to osteo myelitis (infection of the bone) in the jaw bone, requiring removal of part of the jaw. RSPCA Chief Vet Dr Gayle Kothari estimated that the severity of the disease indicated it had been present for at least six months but probably much longer. Dr Kothari noted that some of the dogs were quite young and the dental disease was advanced for their age.
- 16 dogs had severe ear infections. Dr Kothari estimated that the infections had been present in their severe form for at least two weeks but probably much longer.
- 24 dogs had matted fur, with one dog suffering a tourniquet injury from long hair constricting the flesh on its leg and another with barbed wire embedded in its coat.
- One dog had a corneal ulcer caused by long hair growing into its eyes and another dog required removal of an eye due to a corneal ulcer.
- One dog had nails so overgrown they impeded its movement.
- One dog required surgery to remove a hard, protruding mass from its eye.
- One dog had a chronic leg injury that required amputation.
- A 10-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Winston was found to be blind, with a right eye missing, cancer in the left eye, severe dental disease and severe bilateral ear infection. Due to multiple health issues, he was humanely euthanased.
Of the 11 cats seized, three had severe dental disease and one had an ear infection. None of the seized animals had been desexed.
On 10 November 2020 two RSPCA inspectors re-attended at the property under warrant, accompanied by a Senior Fauna Permits Officer from DEWR (Department of Environment and Water Resources) and SAPOL officers. The large number of animals on the property, along with their living conditions and health issues, were again of major concern.
There were native birds in aviaries (some with obvious health issues), squirrel gliders, a large number of rabbits (roaming and in cages), a goat with a broken leg and another with an extremely swollen teat, a mule with a large distended stomach, a brushtail possum confined to a wooden box, 28 dogs, turtles housed in small tanks with no access to dry areas, and more turtles in bathtubs which ate ravenously when given food.
On this second attendance at the property, RSPCA inspectors seized 24 dogs, two possums, two galahs and a corella. The dogs were assessed by the RSPCA vet team at the Lonsdale shelter and found to have no major medical issues. The corella, estimated to be approximately 60-years-old, had a split and crumbling beak, broken wing and likely metabolic disease, and was humanely euthanased.
Animal Welfare Notices were issued requiring the shearing of sheep, relocation of the kangaroos that were being housed inside one small shed, provision of dry areas and adequate food for the turtles and vet treatment for the two goats, donkey and mule. Due to concerns for the defendants' mental health, the RSPCA inspectors left four dogs at the property and issued Animal Welfare Notices for these dogs to see a vet. (An RSPCA inspector attended at the property on 25 November 2020 to check on the animals and found the notices had been complied with.)
Although the large intake of animals had placed enormous strain on the organisation, RSPCA SA Chief Inspector Andrew Baker said staff and volunteers pulled together to achieve the best possible outcomes they could for each individual animal.
"Of the 111 animals seized from this property, we rehomed 90 and transferred 16 (mainly native animals and birds) to other rescue organisations," Inspector Baker said.
"Given the fact that almost every animal required some degree of veterinary treatment, and in some cases significant treatment and rehabilitation, this was an incredible outcome for these animals after their rescue from this house of horrors."
In the Elizabeth Magistrates Court last Tuesday (13 February), the two defendants pleaded guilty to 11 charges of animal ill-treatment (consolidated from the original 69 charges) under SA's Animal Welfare Act. RSPCA SA's legal counsel, Simon Perrie, stated the offences were so serious that a jail term was required, but that it ought to be suspended given the defendants' ages and lack of criminal history.
Magistrate Edward Stratton-Smith agreed that general deterrence meant that a jail term was warranted. His Honour imposed a six-month sentence, reduced to three months and 18 days due
to the defendants' guilty plea. The sentence was suspended on a two-year, $500 good behaviour bond.
The cost incurred by RSPCA SA in treating and caring for such a large number of animals was $46K, but due to the defendants' financial circumstances they were ordered to pay just $2K
Court orders forbid the defendants from owning any animals other than one companion animal each. The order will remain in place until further order. In addition, the defendants are permitted to have animals owned by other persons graze on their 45-acre property, but they are required to provide proof that the animals are not theirs and that they are not responsible for the animals' care. RSPCA SA inspectors have been authorised to inspect the property twice a year without a warrant.
RSPCA SA Chief Inspector Andrew Baker described the case as one of the most extreme examples of animal hoarding the organisation has dealt with. Aside from animal hoarding, Inspector Baker said the case also illustrated why it was vital for puppy buyers to visit the places where the animals come from.
"These defendants were registered breeders and had previously supplied puppies to pet shops," Inspector Baker said.
"Imagine how you would feel if you bought one of those puppies and later learnt of the conditions in which it had been bred and kept."
People looking to purchase a puppy are urged to read RSPCA's Smart Puppy Buyers' Guide - https://www.rspcapuppyguide.com.au/
