Loophole shelters home operators

A GLARING gap in legislation allowed one of the most horrific cases of animal neglect seasoned vets have ever seen to carry on.

There are no laws or legislation to stop anyone from swinging open the doors to their homes and call themselves a sanctuary or rehab for pets in Queensland.

RSPCA inspector Tracey Jackson said there was a “significant gap” in the law that allowed those running Storybook Farm to operate.

“This is not really our area of expertise, because we do not investigate charities or businesses, or enforce compliance with relevant laws for those operations, but there is a significant gap in the laws that allow people to set up a Facebook page, called themselves a ‘rescue’, and commence collecting donations without doing anything more,” Ms Jackson said.

“No business name registration, no details of where the rescue is conducted or who is conducting it, no requirement to keep records of donations or to spend them in a certain way, and no requirement to make financial reports or otherwise account to donors.

“They often run separate fundraising campaigns on sites such as GoFundMe, which have absolutely no safeguards in place to protect consumers, and do not ever take action to respond to allegations.”

LNP leader Deb Frecklington said she was heartbroken by the suffering of the animals and called on the Government to fix the legislation that allowed abuse to go on.

“The suffering of these poor creatures is just heartbreaking,” Ms Frecklington said.

“They were supposed to be cared for, but they have clearly been starved and neglected.

“No animal should need to be rescued from an animal shelter. We have to learn lessons from this appalling story to ensure we never see scenes like this again.

“There are gaping holes in our legislation and I’m calling on the Palaszczuk Government to close them.”

She said the LNP would support any action that would prevent animal cruelty.

“The LNP increased the penalties for animal cruelty and last year we announced plans to more easily prosecute drivers who leave pets in hot cars. I can promise the LNP’s support for any action which prevents animal cruelty and brings those responsible to book. Pets and people should both be protected by our laws.”

Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said he was shocked by the case.

“No animal should ever be treated the way that these animals have been,” he said.

“People have an obligation under the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 to care for and protect the animals under their responsibility.

“Planning approvals and permissions for keeping animals in local areas fall to local councils.”