Animal cruelty reports are on the rise Keith Platt keith@baysidenews.com.au

Divisive breakwater consultation Brodie Cowburn brodie@baysidenews.com.au FRANKSTON Council will be hosting four “drop-in” consultation sessions about the proposed breakwater at Oliver’s Hill. The four events will allow people to “view the proposed plans for the Olivers Hill precinct, learn more about the project, have your questions answered and provide feedback to help inform future

plans.” The proposed plans have been met with backlash from organisations such as the Frankston Beach Association. A report released last month detailed the impact a breakwater may have on the sand at Olivers Hill (“Breakwater for boats passes another hurdle”, The Times, 26/11/18). The location of the breakwater would also serve as a new home for the Frankston Coast Guard. Despite the scheduling of these infor-

mation sessions, it still remains unclear how the project will be funded. Council resolved on 19 November to advocate for state and federal governments to match council’s $8 million contribution to the project. Re-elected Frankston MP Paul Edbrooke made no commitment to the project during his election campaign. The sessions will take place at Functions by the Bay on 15 December 10am1pm, 19 December 4.30-7.30pm, 19 January 10am-1pm, and 22 January, 4.30-7.30pm.

FRANKSTON has come fourth on an RSPCA Victoria list showing the number of cruelty to animals reports during 2017 and 2018. The Mornington Peninsula was ninth on the list which was topped by Geelong. RSPCA Victoria CEO Dr Liz Walker said that for the third year in a row, issues with providing the most basic standards of living for animals – enough food, water and shelter made up the highest proportion of offences reported. “It breaks our hearts to see our Inspectors and vets attend to so many animals that are severely malnourished and ill, who clearly haven’t been shown even the most basic level of care,” Dr Walker said. “These statistics reflect that there is still a lot of important work that needs to be done to educate Victorians and improve animal welfare in our communities.” In 2017-18, RSPCA Victoria received 10,642 cruelty reports – about 29 a day, and an increase of more than 500 reports compared to last

year (10,180). These reports contained 18,098 individual offences. Offences in these reports included 4905 instances of animals with insufficient food, water or insufficient shelter; 3212 concerns about hygiene, grooming and housing conditions; 2704 reports of underweight animals; 2412 issues involving sick and injured animals not receiving veterinary treatment; 1198 of animals being beaten or wounded; 1245 instances of abandoned animals. Dr Walker said prosecutions by RSPCA Victoria’s inspectors had “increased significantly” in the past year. The inspectors had issued 585 notices to comply (a 50.8 per cent increase on last year); laid 712 charges (an 86.4 per cent) against 113 people with facts proven in 111 cases (33.73% increase); had 54 cases where people were disqualification from owning animals, including 22 10-year disqualification orders and one lifetime disqualification order. Dogs (6199), cats (1634) and horses (1468) were the animals most frequently being reported as being mistreated.

Frankston Times 11 December 2018

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