SPCA lists shocking cases of neglect and cruelty

Monday, 26 February 2018

The SPCA's annual list of the worst animal cruelty cases its inspectors came across in 2017.

WARNING: SOME IMAGES MAY BE DISTRESSING.

Sully was found locked in a cold, dark garage - the spaniel-poodle cross had never been let outside or interacted with anyone other than his owner.

His severe mistreatment caused psychological trauma that led to severe anxiety and an inability to make eye contact with people. He was also underweight and unable to move freely due to the poor condition of his coat.

Sully now has a new home thanks to months of successful rehabilitation with the SPCA.

The dog's owner, who had previously been prosecuted by the SPCA and disqualified from owning animals, failed to appear on charges relating to Sully's mistreatment and a warrant has been issued for her arrest.

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Sully when he was found by SPCA inspectors. 'There is evidence to support the dogs were never let outside, and never interacted with anyone other than his owner, resulting in serious emotional trauma and severe separation anxiety.”

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Following eye surgery Frosty's head swelled making eating and breathing difficult. He was subsequently euthanised.

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The owner of 600 chickens, roosters and ducks was sentenced to home detention after keeping the birds in abhorrent conditions - walking in thick mud among faeces and dead birds.

Sully's case appears on the SPCA's list of shame which highlights the worst cases of animal cruelty in 2017.

The list of shame is released ahead of the 2018 SPCA annual appeal from March 9 to 11, which aims to raise awareness and funding to support the 15,000-plus animal welfare complaints SPCA receive each year, along with ongoing education to prevent animal cruelty.

'We need the public's support to end this shameful cruelty in New Zealand,' said SPCA chief executive Andrea Midgen.

'We receive almost no government funding to run the SPCA Inspectorate, which costs approximately $9 million every year.'

Thankfully after months of successful rehabilitation, Sully now lives happily with his new family at a home on Auckland's North Shore with a big back yard.

However, it's not a happy ending for a lot of the animals found by the SPCA – the list includes a five-year-old labrador starved to death, a duck with its beak blown up by a firecracker and a neglected horse, Frosty, left in pain with a deformed eye and engorged head injury.

Frosty had eye removal surgery, but the stitches had been left in his head causing facial swelling obvious from a distance, and made his eating and breathing difficult – due to the extent of his injuries Frosty had to be euthanised on humane grounds.

Frosty's owner was prosecuted by the SPCA and sentenced to 260 hours' community work, disqualified from owning horses for five years and fined more than $1400.

This year's list contains shocking cases of neglect and cruelty, including 600 starving chickens, roosters, and ducks with severe feather loss found in an overcrowded environment trying to feed on the decomposing birds around them, and a dog hit by a car with de-gloving injuries to the bone on both hind legs left by its owner to suffer with no veterinary aid.

'We know this list is very upsetting, but this is the reality of what our inspectors see in their jobs. These horrific cases of neglect and violence towards animals reinforces the vital need for the SPCA's work,' Midgen said.

'The SPCA is here to stand up for any animal that is physically abused, abandoned, neglected, tortured and in pain. It is a very big job and we need all the support we can get.'

Donations for this year's SPCA appeal can be made to street collectors around the country or online at www.spcaannualappeal.org.nz.