The City of Casey has topped the chart as the number 1 LGA where the most animals were seized or surrendered to the RSPCA’s inspectorate.
This comes as the RSPCA released its 2024-25 annual animal cruelty report, which ranks each Victorian LGA according to the number of animals seized or surrendered.
During the 2024-2025 financial year, RSPCA Victoria’s inspectorate responded to 10,206 reports of animal cruelty.
Neglect was the basis for the majority of all reports received, meaning members of the community had reported concerns for animals with a lack of food, water, shelter, or veterinary care.
Other types of neglect reported included poor husbandry, lack of appropriate hygiene and insufficient grooming, shearing and farriery for horses.
As a result of this, around 5 animals every day are seized by or surrendered to RSPCA Victoria’s inspectors.
LGAs ranked with a small number (e.g 1, 2, 3) had the most animals seized or surrendered, while LGAs with a higher number had the fewest.
For Casey, the total number of animals seized or surrendered was 162 compared to 49 in the 2023-24 financial year.
There were 1.16 reports per 1000 residents and a total of 470 reports compared to 506 in 2023-24.
The City of Casey is the most populous LGA in Victoria with 405,415 residents (ABS Estimated Resident Population 2024).
For Cardinia, it was ranked 23, with 28 animals seized or surrendered for 2024/25, 1.57 reports per 1000 residents and a total of 205 reports.
The Yarra Ranges was ranked 2, with Baw Baw 14, Bass Coast 54 and South Gippsland 31.
The top three animals reported across the state were:
7300; Dogs and puppies
2203; Cats and kittens
1197; Horses
According to RSPCA, pet owners unable to afford the costs of providing for their pets and horse owners struggling to source feed are just some of the struggles RSPCA Victoria’s Inspectors are seeing firsthand.
In the last 12 months, more than 10,000 animal cruelty reports were made by members of the public, with 1870 animals were seized by or surrendered to RSPCA Victoria’s Inspectorate, almost double the number of animals seized or surrendered 10 years ago.
Chief Inspector Michelle Green said, while malicious animal cruelty still occurred, it paled in comparison to the impact of the drought and ongoing cost-of-living pressures.
“While it’s frustrating to see malicious animal cruelty still occurring, our inspectors are seeing basic animal neglect much more often,” Chief Inspector Green said.
“In particular, reports of animals with insufficient food, water, or shelter skyrocketed compared to the previous year, along with seeing people really struggling to provide for the number of animals they have, including animals in hoarding situations (reports of hoarding up 48 per cent).
“Mental health concerns can also impact someone’s ability to provide the for basic needs of their pets, further adding to the complexity of our Inspectors work.”
Animals in rural areas, especially horses, have been hit particularly hard as the drought impacts feed availability.
Anyone with concerns about the welfare of animals is urged to make a report to RSPCA Victoria at rspcavic.org/who-to-call or by calling 03 9224 2222.
To view Victoria’s cruelty hotspots, check out the interactive cruelty map. View the 2023/24 Animal Cruelty Report here.
