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Pups left to starve

Announcement posted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Australia 17 Nov 2018

The Editor


Dear Editor,
 
People of the Albury-Wodonga region and throughout NSW and Victoria are rightly dismayed at the light sentence handed out in the case of the North Albury woman who abandoned two dogs to die. Two-year-old Benji and a puppy named Ruby were found locked inside a laundry room, where they starved to death. Inspectors found the room filled with the strong, pungent smell of dog faeces and urine. There was a single empty ice cream container, with no water inside. An RSPCA Inspector said that "I can’t even imagine the pain and suffering these poor dogs went through over an extended period of time and in their last hours". A photo, taken after the dogs were found, shows Ruby’s little paw resting on Benji’s body, as if comforting her dying friend.
 
The perpetrator of this cruel neglect was fined $144, ordered to do 80 hours of community service and banned from owning an animal for the next five years. This sentence does not in any way reflect the seriousness of this crime – one commentator observed that she had paid parking fines that cost more than that.
 
Penalties for cases of cruelty and neglect are rarely imposed to the full extent of the law. NSW legislation allows for penalties up to five years in prison or $22,000 fines. It's time that we started to impose these maximum sentences and treat cases of cruelty to animals as the serious crimes that they are.
 
If you suspect someone of abusing an animal, report it to authorities right away, it could mean the difference between life and death.
 
Desmond Bellamy
Special Projects Coordinator
PETA Australia
PO Box 2352
Byron Bay NSW 2481
0411 577416
DesmondB@PETA.org.au