Two animal cruelty offenders were sentenced in the Rockingham Magistrates Court yesterday in cases that illustrate the breadth of RSPCA WA investigations.
In the first case, a 36-year-old man was fined $2,500 and banned from owning an animal for 12 months after RSPCA WA inspectors found his three-year-old cat, Tom-Tom, tied to a tree branch on the ground next to a tent in a Medina park.
A City of Kwinana ranger reported concerns for Tom-Tom to RSPCA WA on a 38-degree day in March. The ranger had seen the grey cat at Harry McGuigan Park – his tether was tangled in the fallen branches meaning the cat couldn't get out of the direct sunlight. Tom-Tom had no access to water.
An RSPCA WA inspector went to the park and saw Tom-Tom showing signs of heat distress - he was breathing rapidly and looked frozen in place, a sign of extreme stress or shock.
The cat was seized and immediately placed in an air-conditioned compartment of the inspector's vehicle before being driven to Port City Emergency Vets where it was confirmed he was suffering from heat distress.
The offender was convicted of confining Tom-Tom in a manner that caused him unnecessary harm and failing to provide the cat with shelter from the elements. In addition to the fine, he was ordered to pay $1,961.55 in costs.
In the second case, a 29-year-old Baldivis man was fined $5,000 for using a steel-jaw trap, a prescribed inhumane device under the Animal Welfare Act 2002, to trap and kill a raven.
He told inspectors he would use an egg to lure a bird, hit it on the head to kill it when trapped, and leave it in the trap to deter other birds from getting into his chicken yard. When asked if the ravens were still alive when the trap snapped on their leg, he answered "yes".
He said he couldn't say how long the raven had remained alive while trapped before he discovered and killed it, but said it could have been five or 10 minutes. He said he had been using this deterrent method with ravens for around six months.
In sentencing, Magistrate Sarah Oliver said the offender's behaviour was "unacceptable, cruel and malicious". She said it was "an unacceptable way to treat any animal … obviously this sort of trap is incredibly cruel … it would have been a terrifying and painful experience for the bird".
RSPCA WA Inspector Manager Kylie Green said the two cases showed the breadth of animal cruelty happening in WA.
"The most common cases involve emaciated animals, pets left to suffer untreated medical conditions, and appalling, dangerous living conditions," she said.
"Sadly, deliberate abuse such as beatings and so-called home-euthanasia are also becoming more common.
"What these cases show though is that our inspectors never know what jobs they'll be investigating when they arrive at work each day. There is seemingly no end to the number and type of cases reported to us."
The 28-year-old partner of the offender in the raven case was also convicted and fined $600 for obstructing an RSPCA WA inspector in the course of her investigation. The Baldivis woman admitted she had removed the raven from the trap and hidden it under a mulberry bush during the course of the investigation.
In addition to the fines, both offenders were ordered to pay $920.30 in costs.
The maximum penalty for a conviction of animal cruelty is a $50,000 fine and five years in prison. The maximum penalty for obstructing an inspector is $20,000 fine and imprisonment for one year.
The RSPCA relies on the community to report incidents of suspected cruelty and neglect. Report cruelty on 1300 CRUELTY (1300 278 358) or via rspcawa.org.au.
