RSPCA WA has revealed the State’s animal cruelty hotspots for the 2024-25 financial year.
The City of Swan recorded the highest rate with 662 animal cruelty reports, followed by the City of Wanneroo with 572.
The City of Rockingham jumped from sixth to third, a shocking 25 per cent increase with 433 complaints compared to 346 last financial year.
The City of Mandurah came in at eighth, a 12 per cent drop from the previous financial year with 255 complaints.
Most reports concerned dogs and puppies, followed by cats and kittens, birds, livestock, and horses.
General abuse and cruelty were the highest category of reports received for the year, followed by insufficient care, and abandonment.
A total of 7195 cruelty reports involving 9230 animals were investigated across WA in 2024-25 – 57 more than the previous year.
Chief Operating Officer Hannah Dreaver said despite a modest increase in the number of reports, the scale and complexity of last year’s cases had put unprecedented pressure on the organisation.
“Most significantly, inspectors seized three times as many animals as the year prior – a rise that drove sharp increases in vet work, prosecutions, and care days at RSPCA WA’s shelter,” she said.
“The rise in seized animal numbers was a major factor in making 2024-25 one of the busiest and most complex years we’ve ever faced.
“Seized animals are often victims of large-scale cruelty such as puppy farms or hoarding and many seized animals have endured severe neglect meaning they need to stay much longer in our care than animals that are surrendered or strays.
“They generally need more intensive vet treatment and behaviour support, while our inspectors and legal team spend longer amounts of time on more complex prosecutions. All of this adds up to more pressure across the organisation.”
For the first time ever, RSPCA WA has shared an interactive online report and map which allows residents to explore cruelty reports by region, local government area, and suburb across WA.
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.
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