A 29-year-old woman is facing two counts of ill-treatment of an animal under South Australia's Animal Welfare Act.
The defendant is alleged to have failed to provide adequate and appropriate food for a dog, who was found severely emaciated when seized from the woman's Whyalla Norrie house by RSPCA SA inspectors on 28 January 2025.
The defendant is also alleged to have failed to seek veterinary care for the dog, who was found with an ulcerated wound, severe dental disease, dermatitis and alopecia. The dog remains in protective custody with RSPCA SA.
The matter is due to be heard for the first time in the Whyalla Magistrates Court this month.
A 36-year-old man is due to face the Victor Harbor Magistrates Court charged with ill-treatment of an animal under SA's Animal Welfare Act. A warrant was issued for the arrest of a 32-year-old woman facing the same charge after she failed to attend court for the third time on 6 May 2025.
The charge is in relation to a severely emaciated dog found at the male defendant's Hayborough home in January 2024. The dog has since made a full recovery in RSPCA SA care and been rehomed.
A 40-year-old dog breeder from Aldinga Beach is due to appear before the Christies Beach Magistrates Court on five counts of animal ill-treatment. The RSPCA seized three bulldogs and two French bulldogs from the woman due to them being emaciated.
A warrant will be issued for the woman's arrest if she fails to attend after she failed to attend court on 23 April 2025. The court ordered that all the dogs be forfeited to RSPCA SA.
RSPCA South Australia has charged a 37-year-old woman from Elizabeth Vale with four counts of ill-treatment of an animal under the state's Animal Welfare Act.
A charge to cause death or serious harm is in relation to a seven-year-old male dog that allegedly died as the result of starvation. The woman is also charged with failure to obtain veterinary care for the dog in the days before his death when he was clearly unwell and suffering.
Two further charges of ill-treatment of an animal relate to four cats found at the woman's house. The cats were allegedly being kept in a filthy room with no available drinking water. The woman is charged with failure to provide adequate and appropriate drinking water and living conditions for the cats.
The fourth charge is for alleged failure to obtain veterinary care for one of the cats. The four-year-old female cat was suffering from multiple abscesses in and around her mouth, ulceration of her tongue, stomatitis, infected ears and dental disease. Due to the cat's extremely poor condition, she was humanely euthanased.
The defendant failed to attend court on 4 December 2024, and a warrant was issued for her arrest. The matter is due to be heard in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court this month.
A 41-year-old woman, her 24-year-old daughter and a 29-year-old man are facing ten counts of ill-treatment of an animal under SA's Animal Welfare Act. This follows the seizure of 36 animals from a property in the Murray Malle region in July 2024. The seized animals were dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets, chickens and a snake.
It will be alleged that some of the animals required veterinary treatment while others were in emaciated condition and living in filthy enclosures, without access to water.
The younger female defendant is facing an additional charge of ill-treatment in relation to the snake, located in an enclosure without a heat lamp or water when seized.
The older female defendant is also charged with breach of a 2022 court order that prohibited her from having custody of more than four cats, four birds and ten chickens. The defendant was discovered having custody of numerous animals, in violation of the order.
The matter is due to be heard in the Murray Bridge Magistrates Court this month.
A 69-year-old woman is due to appear in the Port Augusta Magistrates Court to face 23 counts of ill-treatment of an animal under SA's Animal Welfare Act.
Twenty-one counts relate to cats and kittens, covering three factual circumstances. First, the RSPCA SA will allege these animals were kept in "Filthy" conditions, which is the worst rating on the organisation's Environmental Health Scale (adapted from Tufts Animal and Condition scales). Secondly, it will be alleged that the woman failed to seek veterinary treatment to mitigate harm suffered by some of the animals. Thirdly, that she allegedly failed to provide adequate food for some of the animals, who were in emaciated condition when seized by RSPCA SA inspectors on 21 February 2024.
The two remaining counts for ill treatment of an animal concern two River Murray Short-Necked turtles. Caring for these animals in captivity is complex, with their requirements including heating and artificial UV light, water at a specific PH, turtle docks and floating banks. Without proper care, they can develop illnesses, including ones that affect their shells.
RSPCA SA will allege that the woman failed to provide adequate and appropriate living conditions for the reptiles by failing to provide clean water and docking areas, thereby causing the animals to be permanently in water, which is contrary to their natural way of life. Having failed to provide the proper daily care for the turtles, the RSPCA SA will allege the woman then failed to seek veterinary treatment for them when they developed diseases. One had black ulcerated lesions and a soft shell due to lack of exposure to ultraviolent light and the other also had multiple lesions on its shell and a bone infection.
The woman agreed to surrender all of the animals, enabling them to be rehomed once they had recovered.
A 35-year-old man from Birkenhead is facing three counts of ill-treatment of an animal under South Australia's Animal Welfare Act.
It will be alleged that the defendant intentionally, unreasonably or recklessly caused unnecessary harm to a dog while walking with the dog off-lead in public at Semaphore on 11 April 2025.
The defendant was witnessed by several people to – on three occasions – pick the animal up and slam her into the ground. The dog remains in protective custody with RSPCA SA.
The matter is due to be heard for the first time in the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court this month.
A 58-year-old woman from Naracoorte is facing four counts of ill-treatment of an animal under South Australia's Animal Welfare Act.
The charges are in relation to 15 dogs allegedly being kept in unhygienic, inappropriate and inadequate living conditions. It will be alleged that most of the dogs were being housed in a kitchen area, while others were in a bathroom, inside crates or in backyard pens, with all the areas having significant build-ups of faeces and urine. It will be further alleged that some of the dogs had no access to water, while other dogs could only access polluted, green water.
The matter is due to be heard for the first time in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court this month.
A northern suburbs woman is due before the Elizabeth Magistrates Court charged with ill-treatment of two dogs, who were found in a severely emaciated state at an Elizabeth South property in June 2024. A snake was also located at the property but has not been the subject of any charges. This snake has been forfeited to RSPCA SA and remains in foster care.
The accused was subject to an animal prohibition order at the time of the RSPCA attendance and has been further charged for breaching that Court order. The defendant agreed to surrender the dogs to RSPCA SA.
A long-running trial in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court continues, with a female defendant charged with ill treatment of an animal. The charge is in relation to a Standardbred horse that was found to be suffering from a chronic and painful medical condition. The horse was assessed by an attending equine vet and euthanased on humane grounds.
A 48-year-old Elizabeth East man is due in court this month charged with one count of ill-treatment of an animal under SA's Animal Welfare Act.
The defendant, being the owner of 23 dogs, is alleged to have failed to provide them with appropriate and adequate living conditions.
The dogs were seized on 7 February 2025 by RSPCA SA inspectors after allegedly being found living in unhygienic conditions due to a build-up of urine and faeces within a property at Surrey Downs.
A 60-year-old man is due in court this month charged with two counts of ill-treatment of an animal under SA's Animal Welfare Act.
The charges are in relation to ten Staffordshire Bull Terrier puppies allegedly found at the man's Craigmore house, inside a room filled with rubbish, faeces and urine resulting in high ammonia levels.
In addition to failing to provide appropriate and adequate living condition for the puppies, the defendant is also alleged to have failed to provide them with appropriate and adequate food and water. The puppies were all found in various states of emaciation when seized by RSPCA SA inspectors on 3 March 2025.
