In addition to investigating cruelty, RSPCA Inspectors spend a significant portion of their time preparing animal cruelty cases and attending court. RSPCA Victoria Inspectors are authorised to investigate animal cruelty reports defined by the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (POCTAA) 1986 as well as investigate illegal Domestic Animal Businesses (DABs) defined by the Domestic Animals Act (DAA) 1994. Whilst the RSPCA has an excellent prosecution record, the financial penalty of losing a case can be extremely high. Court cases and potential appeals can be extremely costly and difficult to anticipate. Fines imposed by the court are allocated to the State Government and whilst costs can be awarded to the RSPCA, these are often difficult to recover from the offenders. To stay up to date with our biggest Inspectorate prosecutions, please follow us on Facebook and Twitter, or visit our Latest News page. |
You can also read about some of our recent prosecutions below.
**Due to COVID-19 all RSPCA Victoria court cases were adjourned for several months. We are attending online hearings where cases allow, however the volume of prosecutions will be reduced until the courts re-open in due course**