Following the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA)'s release of its annual Animal Cruelty Report, Hume City Council is concerned to see the impact cost-of-living pressures are having on family homes, in this case the care of animals.
The Hume Animal Management Team has responded to a significant increase in pet surrenders during 2024/25 and offer information on support services such as pet food donations prior to accepting a surrender.
Animal safety and responsible pet ownership are expectations we encourage our residents to uphold.
What this data tells us is that investigation and detection processes in Hume are successful.
Hume City Council is a proud partner of the RSPCA and works closely with them to share intelligence and data, refer detected cruelty instances, and ensure coordinated compliance.
Hume also hosts RSPCA low-cost pet vaccine and health clinics, with the September sessions currently listed at our Facebook page.
In partnership with Second Chance Animal Rescue (SCAR), Hume City Council provides free cat desexing, microchipping, registration and vaccination for semi-owned cats and cat owners in severe financial need utilizing State Government Grant Funding and Council Funds.
Hume City Council currently offers free and low-cost animal registration to cats/dogs for eligible residents encouraging pet owners to register their pets.
As part of Council's consultation this year on the Domestic Animal Management Plan 2025–2029, Council received over 393 submissions that will help guide how we manage these issues. The DAMP ensures our commitment to:
