A 26-year-old Maylands woman has been fined $5000 and banned from owning pets for five years after leaving her eight-week-old kitten locked inside her Peninsula Road unit without food and water.
In May 2024, an RSPCA WA inspector went to the Maylands home after a cruelty report was received about the grey and white kitten named Coco.
The inspector could see Coco inside the unit but no food or water. The inspector described the living conditions as squalid and filthy.
A directions order was issued, and relayed via telephone, for the kitten to be given adequate food and water.
The inspector returned to the unit the next day to find nobody had been there to care for Coco. She sought an emergency warrant to enter the home where she seized Coco.
A subsequent vet examination revealed the kitten was underweight with a body score of 2/9 (five being optimal), was dehydrated, and was frantic for food and water.
The offender later agreed to surrender Coco, and she has since fully recovered and been adopted.
In sentencing, Magistrate Brionie Ayling said, "The punishment is to account for the community's condemnation of animals being mistreated in a way that contravenes the legislation."
RSPCA WA Chief Operating Officer Hannah Dreaver said the sentencing sent a strong message about the responsibilities associated with pet ownership.
"The offender told us she had bought Coco for her daughters," she said.
"The decision to become a pet owner comes with responsibilities. Animals need proper care for their whole life, and it is the adults in any house who are responsible for the wellbeing of the pets who live there."
The offender was sentenced under sections 19(1), 19(3)(d) and 40(2) of the Animal Welfare Act 2002. She was found to have been cruel to Coco in that she didn't provide her with sufficient food or water, and she was convicted for failing to follow a direction from an RSPCA WA inspector.
The maximum penalty for a charge of animal cruelty is a $50,000 fine and five years in prison. The maximum penalty for failing to follow an inspector's direction is a $20,000 fine and one year in prison.
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
