Fined on pet welfare lies
AN EARLVILLE woman has landed in court for deliberately misleading RSPCA inspectors about the welfare of her pet for nearly three months.
When Sasha the bull arab mastiff was taken to a vet in July this year, she was suffering from a painful skin condition, severely infected ears and a tapeworm infestation.
Since early April her owner Holly Vincent lied to RSPCA inspectors that she’d sought veterinary treatment and then evaded their visits and calls.
She was fined $3000 and banned from owning a dog for five years for breaching a duty of care to an animal and failing to comply with an animal welfare direction.
Vincent must also pay $4187.90 in animal seizure and legal costs.
Inspectors first visited Vincent on April 6 this year after receiving reports of an underweight dog with a skin condition.
Vincent refused entry but inspectors were able to inspect Sasha two weeks later when Vincent was out.
She then called and told inspectors that she had taken Sasha to a vet and her condition was improving.
Barrister John Eylander, for the RSPCA, told the Cairns Magistrates Court that during the next six weeks Vincent evaded contact with the RSPCA, even saying that Sasha was staying with her mum. When the inspector executed a search warrant at Vincent’s home on May 30, Sasha was found.
“The dog’s skin condition was obvious and unimproved with hair loss over most areas of the body, inflamed rashes, scabby and infected areas of skin on the body and paws and thickened and scabby crusted ears with raw bleeding areas,” Mr Eylander said.
Vincent was told to seek veterinary treatment but when she failed to do so Sasha was seized.
The vet noted that Sasha was an older dog with an obvious skin and ear infection.
“She was underweight, she was in immense pain due to her skin condition and severely infected ears, she had a tapeworm infestation,” Mr Eylander said.
Magistrate Joe Pinder described it as a serious example of animal negligence.