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May '13

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14 May 2013

2013 People's Choice Community Lottery

RSPCA Victoria is participating in the 2013 People’s Choice Community Lottery!

There are over 200 prizes to be won valued at over $370,000, and for just $2 you can support animals in need and be a winner! Major prizes include a brand new Hyundai Sante Fe Active 2.2 CRDi Auto or a $35,000 shopping spree at Harvey Norman!

RSPCA Victoria receives 100% of all ticket sale proceeds, so buy up and support our crucial animal welfare work!

For more information, please contact David Macdermott by email (dmacdermott@rspcavic.org.au) or phone (03 9224 2536).

To buy tickets online, please click here.

13 May 2013

It's National Volunteer Week!

National Volunteer Week is taking place from May 13-19, giving us the perfect opportunity to thank our wonderful volunteers who work tirelessly to help us care for ‘all creatures great and small’. We are very lucky to have a dedicated team of 2200 volunteers across RSPCA Victoria, assisting in virtually every aspect of our work.

On behalf of all the animals, we extend our heartfelt thanks to each and every one of our volunteers. No matter what area of the organisation you volunteer in, your dedication and hard work go such a long way in improving the welfare of animals. Without your amazing support, we simply could not achieve so many positive outcomes.

13 May 2013

Michelle Bridges invites animal-lovers to join us for the 2013 RSPCA Million Paws Walk

Humans and canines alike are getting excited about the 2013 RSPCA Million Paws Walk, which is only six days away!

The Biggest Loser trainer and RSPCA Ambassador, Michelle Bridges, recently visited Albert Park Lake, where one of Victoria’s 17 walks will be held. Michelle enjoyed a lovely walk and cuddles with RSPCA adoption dog, Honey, while talking about her love of the RSPCA’s work. Click here to watch the video!

Please join us for the Million Paws Walk this Sunday, 19 May, and help us raise vital funds for ‘all creatures great and small’.

10 May 2013

Appeal for information - Family cat set alight in Craigieburn

On Tuesday 7 May, a beloved family cat was doused with a flammable substance and set alight in the Craigieburn area. The cat’s owners are hopeful that their beloved pet will survive the horrific injuries it has suffered.

The RSPCA is sickened by this disgraceful act of animal cruelty. We are appealing for anyone who has any information to come forward and contact the RSPCA or Crime Stoppers.

> Report cruelty

7 May 2013

ABC's 7.30 program exposes shocking footage of cruelty to Australian cattle in Egypt

Last night, the ABC’s 7.30 program again revealed the horrors of the live export industry, exposing shocking footage of the cruel treatment of Australian cattle in Egypt.

In 2006, the government suspended the live export trade to Egypt after cruelty in an Egyptian abattoir was exposed. Cattle exports to Egypt resumed in May 2008, and since then, more than 100,000 Australian cattle have been slaughtered in these facilities, where no stunning is required and the animals have their throats cut in a terrifying restraint device.

Take action now.

6 May 2013

Live exports to Egypt suspended

The cruelty in live exports has again been exposed resulting in the trade to Egypt being suspended. It is time for our government to end live exports. Please contact your local MP as we need our voice to be heard, the cruelty must end. Click here to learn more.

5 May 2013

Join us at the Dog Lovers Show this weekend!

We're thrilled to have been selected as a charity partner of this year’s Dog Lovers Show. Come down and visit our stand at the Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton, this weekend!

Help us celebrate our Happy Endings stories and raise much needed funds for the animals in our care. Bring your friends and family and speak to our staff and volunteers to learn what the RSPCA is up to in 2013. Don't miss the chance to win some great prizes!

1 May 2013

Horse falls during jumps race at Warrnambool

Another horse fell during a jumps race at Warrnambool Carnival today. At this stage, it seems both horse and rider have walked away from the fall, but they’re the lucky ones. The next fall could be fatal. Take action now – let your local MP know you want jumps racing banned.

30 April 2013

RSPCA fears more deaths at annual Warrnambool jumps racing carnival

RSPCA Victoria is urging Local Member for Warrnambool and Premier, Denis Napthine, to put an immediate end to jumps racing ahead of this week’s Warrnambool May Racing Carnival amid fears of more deaths on the racetrack.

RSPCA Victoria Chief Executive Officer, Maria Mercurio said: “It is time to put an end to this barbaric sport once and for all. The RSPCA and community will not tolerate seeing horses suffer horrific injuries, often resulting in their death, while taking part in jumps racing.”

Earlier this month, Scenic Buzz lost his life following a horrific fall at a Victorian steeplechase. Like many jumps horses before him, he was forced to run a race he was ill equipped for.

“The fact that Racing Victoria (RVL) and our government are prepared to let these horses suffer horrific injuries and death in the name of profit and human entertainment beggars belief. It is disgusting that our government has injected $2 million of taxpayers’ money into funding this cruelty. This money could fund essential services such as 63 nurses, 39 police officers, 36 teachers, 2500 apprenticeships, 148,000 road black spot projects, assistance for 532 domestic violence victims, or eight CFA fire trucks. Instead of investing this money where it is desperately needed, our government has used it to fund a so-called ‘sport’ that severely compromises horse welfare,” Ms Mercurio said.

“We have already witnessed many shocking injuries and deaths during the Warrnambool Carnival. Last year, The Black Oak was killed after sustaining a fracture during a trial at Warrnambool. In 2011, three horses died after sustaining injuries during jumps races. In 2010, Sirrocean Storm suffered a sickening leg break during a jumps race at Warrnambool, leaving him floundering on the track in unimaginable pain and distress before he was killed,” Ms Mercurio said.

“It is obvious that jumps racing cannot be safe – RVL and our government need to wake up to this fact. RVL can continue to claim that improving horse safety is a primary concern of theirs, but year after year, we continue to see horses die, and we can only assume that the vast number of jumps horses that disappear without a trace each year have done so because of injury,” Ms Mercurio added.

“The only way RVL can improve horse welfare is to stand by the decision it made in 2010 to ban jumps racing. As long as jumps racing continues, we will keep seeing these horrific injuries and needless deaths on the racetrack. It is time for RVL and our government to listen to the community and take a stand for horse welfare by banning jumps racing. The cruelty must end here,” Ms Mercurio concluded.

26 April 2013

RSPCA Pets Place Epping - Grand Opening

We’re excited to announce a new chapter in RSPCA Victoria’s history with the grand opening of our brand new animal welfare hub - RSPCA Pets Place Epping.

Pets Place is a one-stop destination for all your pet care needs. Under one roof, you will find everything you need to take care of your pet; professional advice, grooming and training facilities, pet care accessories and an animal welfare information hub. You can even find your new best friend at Pets Place, with dogs, cats and rabbits up for adoption.

Please join us to celebrate the grand opening of RSPCA Pets Place Epping this Saturday and Sunday from 9am-5pm. With store tours, face painting, a BBQ and showbags, it’ll be a great day out for the whole family!

Stop by and join the fun at the Epping Homemaker Centre
560-650 High Street
Epping VIC 3076

We’d love to see you there!

17 April 2013

Scenic Buzz killed at Sandown

Scenic Buzz's trainer has said the horse's death at Sandown today was simply "a fact of racing". Deaths in jumps racing will continue to occur until this barbaric sport is banned. Take action now and let our Premier know that jumps deaths may be inevitable, but they are never acceptable. This cruel sport must be banned immediately.

17 April 2013

Melbourne Rebels players stop by at the RSPCA

We recently had some special visitors at the RSPCA, with Melbourne Rebels players Jason Woodward and Scott Fuglistaller stopping by. Whether or not you’re a fan of rugby, we’re sure you share Jason and Scott’s passion for animals!

During their visit, they spent some quality time with Keisha, a beautiful dog who is patiently waiting to find a loving new family. They also met many of our other adoption animals, giving them lots of pats and cuddles. Tails were wagging all round!

16 April 2013

Sammy's story

We've been following Sammy's story for a couple of weeks now - the little dog who needed surgery on his patella. Following his surgery three weeks ago, Sammy has been recuperating with his foster carer on cage rest. He still has a couple of weeks to go before his knee will be properly healed, but his carer has let us know that he is feeling very chipper and should be jumping about as he used to in no time at all.

8 April 2013

Coopers withdraws support of jumps racing carnival in South Australia

We were very pleased to hear that Coopers, who were a major sponsor of the Oakbank Racing Carnival in South Australia, pulled their support of the races in response to the community's views on Jumps Racing.

The more the community continues to speak out about jumps racing, the more momentum our campaign will gain to bring this 'sport' to an end once and for all. To find out how you can make a difference, please click here.

5 April 2013

777 animals find new homes during RSPCA Adopt-a-thon

The results are in! 777 animals were adopted during our March Adopt-a-thon! While the figure is a little shy of the 1000 homes we were aiming for, we were over the moon to have also rehomed 107 cats over the Easter long weekend through our 'I Heart Cats' cat adoption fee waiver program.

A great result for all of our animals, especially our lovely feline friends. We hope that everyone that adopted a new pet during March are enjoying the company of their new addition to the family and we wish you all the best for a long, happy life together.

3 April 2013

Free cat desexing and microchipping for pension and healthcare card holders in regional areas

Did you know that one female cat could have three breeding seasons in one year? And that one cat and her offspring then have the potential to populate into 40,000 cats in just three years?

As part of RSPCA Victoria's focus on cat welfare, we are currently offering pension and healthcare card holders in Mildura, Sale, Ballarat, Portland and Warrnambool free desexing and microchipping vouchers (for cats only). If you or someone you know with a concession card has a cat in these areas and hasn't had these essential procedures performed, please refer them to our website for more information.

We are happy to report that similar campaigns that we have run in recent years have already had a significant impact in reducing the number of unwanted cats in Victoria and we hope our current campaign (which has been funded in part by a government grant from the Animal Welfare Fund) will produce similar results. We look forward to providing you with an update.

24 January 2013

Gippsland bushfires

Our thoughts are with those who have been affected by the devastating bushfires across Victoria. Early this morning, our Mobile Animal Care unit (MAC) set out to Sale in the Gippsland region. With large fires still raging in eastern Victoria and temperatures set to soar today, members of our expert veterinary and Inspectorate teams will be on the ground to help injured and lost animals affected by the fires, ensuring they receive the best possible care during this incredibly distressing time.

22 January 2013

Volunteer Info Session - Burwood East

Thank you to all volunteers who registered for our Burwood East volunteering information session this morning. We were overwhelmed with the level of interest and unfortunately our website crashed. Our sincerest apologies to those who had issues or may have missed out.

Our next information sessions are listed below. In the meantime, we encourage you to visit Get Involved to explore the other ways you can help animals. We also urgently need foster carers - we welcome you to explore this as an opportunity where you can help give animals a second chance.

Information session	Bookings open
2pm and 6.30pm Monday, 27 May 2013	9am Tuesday, 7 May 2013
2pm Wednesday, 31 July 2013	9am Tuesday, 9 July 2013
2pm and 6.30pm Tuesday, 17 September 2013	9am Tuesday, 27 August 2013
2pm Tuesday 12 November 2013	9am Tuesday, 22 October 2013

19 December 2012

New indoor adoptions at Burwood East

The first major milestone of RSPCA Burwood East’s site redevelopment project has been completed. RSPCA Burwood East has unveiled a state-of-the-art indoor adoption centre for dogs and small animals, expanded grooming facilities and an upgraded behavioural training centre.

This redevelopment was only made possible by three generous bequests left specifically for this purpose. The incredible kindness of these benefactors has left a lasting paw print on animal protection and care.

Once fully completed in 2013, all of RSPCA Burwood East’s adoption services will be indoors, which will benefit the health and happiness of the animals in RSPCA’s care by providing a controlled climate.

We’d love you to come check out our new facilities and meet our pooches, bunnies and guinea pigs looking for love. RSPCA Burwood East is open until 7.30 every Wednesday and Thursday until March 21, 2013.

To learn more about the redevelopment or to view an updated site map, please click here.

Remembering Dame Elisabeth.

RSPCA Victoria was deeply saddened by the news of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch's passing last night. Dame Elisabeth was a life long advocate of animal welfare causes and devoted a lot of her time and resources to being a voice for animals worldwide.

This remarkable lady was a patron of RSPCA Victoria for over 30 years and will be sadly missed by all that knew her here. Of course, Dame Elisabeth's charitable and philanthropic work extended far beyond just animal welfare, and her work and kindness for those less fortunate will be remembered by thousands of people for many many years. Thanks Dame Elisabeth, your legacy will live on forever in all those that you helped and touched.

31 October 2012

RSPCA Plea for information - dog deliberately shot with firearm.

The RSPCA and Victorian Police are currently investigating a shocking incident that occurred in the Red Hill area on Sunday night, 28 October. Unfortunately a family returned home to find that their much loved pet Dachshund had been shot with a rifle on their property. Unfortunately the dog did not survive. The RSPCA is shocked and appalled that someone has committed this malicious and deliberate act and is desperately seeking any information that may help us with our investigation. If you have any information, please call 03 9224 2222 or by clicking on the below link. Our best wishes are with the family involved at this very sad time.

> Report cruelty

26 October 2012

RSPCA Victoria Phone System Outage - Friday 26 October 2012

Between 9pm and approx 1am RSPCA Victoria's phone system will experience an outage due to redevelopment works at RSPCA Burwood East. This will affe our emergency ambulance and Inspectorate help service which operates 24 hours.

For any urgent Inspectorate or Ambulance calls during this time, please call 0425 787 242 rather than 9224 2222.

23 July 2012

Eyewitnesses report another jumps horse killed at Cranbourne

Eyewitnesses are reporting that another jumps horse, Foremost, was killed on Wednesday 18 July during a trial at Cranbourne. It is said that he landed on his head and broke his neck. Racing Victoria is yet to confirm this needless death.

This brings the death toll of the 2012 jumps season to five horses (across Vic and SA) which is totally unacceptable. The risks associated with Jumps Racing are so high that it will never be a viable sport. We must bring an end to jumps racing now before any more horses are subjected to a horrible death. Learn more and take action now by clicking here.

17 July 2012

ABC 7:30 Report - Pig Dogging

Like you, the RSPCA was extremely distressed to watch the report on ‘pig dogging’ on ABC’s 7:30 Report. The footage was horrific and the RSPCA is extremely concerned for both the welfare of the pigs and the dogs depicted. The RSPCA is opposed to the hunting of pigs with dogs. Unfortunately, this is still a legal activity in some parts of Australia, including Victoria. This allows dogs to be used to ‘flush out’ or locate feral pigs but they are not permitted to bring them down. However as depicted within the report, there are some extremely cruel people allowing for the animals to die slowly and horrifically, which is against the law. The RSPCA urges anyone with knowledge of this happening to call us immediately.

The RSPCA accepts that in some circumstances there may be a need to control introduced animals such as feral pigs, but we firmly believe that any control measures used must be justified, effective and humane. This is not the case with hunting pigs with dogs. Recreational hunting of pigs does not have any significant effect in reducing the agricultural or environmental impacts of these animals. Pig hunters do not apply their activities in a coordinated manner nor do they target their efforts in ways that would reduce impacts.

Pigs hunted with dogs are chased, held down and may be attacked and wounded by the dogs before the hunter is able to dispatch the pig. This is especially likely where dogs are poorly trained or are not called off quickly after they have located the pig. This means that the pig has suffered considerable pain and distress prior to death.

Not only is the use of dogs cruel to the pigs themselves, it also places the dogs in danger of injury and death. Some hunters will treat injured dogs themselves by sewing up their wounds, rather than take them for appropriate veterinary treatment. In addition, pig dogs are frequently lost during hunting and can end up as stray/wild dogs causing stock losses to farmers.

The RSPCA is opposed to the hunting of any animal for sport as it causes unnecessary injury, suffering, distress or death to the prey animal.

16 July 2012

RSPCA Castlemaine experiencing telephone line difficulties

Unfortunately RSPCA Castlemaine is experiencing telephone line difficulties today, 16 July 2012. Technicians hope to have the problems resolved tomorrow, 17 July. We are sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

6 July 2012

Two positive court results for RSPCA Victoria

Today, 6 July 2012, the RSPCA received two positive court results against animal cruelty offenders.

A cruelty case was concluded at Melbourne Magistrates Court as a plea to two charges. The man had been charged in relation to the death of his dog in Preston in Oct 2011. Unfortunately the dog had starved to death in his backyard. The case was heard before Mr. Watkins who described the offences as “sickening”. He convicted the man and fined him $2000 with $441.13 costs. An application was made for an order to disqualify him from being the person in charge of any animal. This was granted for a period of five years.

Another case concluded today at Heidelberg before Mr. Parsons. This was a contested hearing in relation to two dogs seized by the RSPCA after the owner had failed to sufficient care and food for the dogs. She was charged with two counts of animal cruelty. Both charges were proven and the woman was convicted and placed on a two year undertaking conditional upon paying $500 to the RSPCA. She was also ordered to pay $6000 costs and disqualified from being the person in charge of any animal for five years.

5 July 2012

RSPCA Victoria's 141st Birthday!

Yesterday, 4 July 2012, RSPCA Victoria celebrated its 141st Birthday. Concerned for the welfare of horses, it was on that day in 1871 that a public meeting was arranged by the Society for the Promotion of Public Morality to discuss the carefree colonial attitude towards animals. From this meeting, the Victorian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (VSPCA) was established, with other state Societies forming in the years to follow. In 1923 the Societies were given the Royal Warrant and they became known as the Royal Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Since its initial movement in 1871, the RSPCA has fought relentlessly against animal cruelty. It has witnessed dramatic and positive change in the way that animals are treated within our society and has seen incremental change in legislation governing animal welfare. The RSPCA is an organisation created by the community and driven by strong community support. Without public backing the RSPCA would cease to function and without the services of the RSPCA the future for thousands of animals would look very bleak. Thank you for your passionate support of the welfare for all creatures great and small.

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