Australian wildlife cruelty is out of control

Horrific, sadistic wildlife cruelty is out of control in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia.

* CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses animal cruelty

with Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (POCTA) has now replaced many states, governments are failing to act urgently to address the increasing persecution and trauma suffered by Australian wildlife.

The situation is serious and largely unreported in the mainstream media, with wildlife being subjected to horrific treatment, torture and horrific suffering. Animals are sentient beings; They feel the pain just like humans, but there is no relief because there is no compassion in our political parties. Instead, using our wildlife as photographic material for propaganda.

South West Victoria town choroidA koala was allegedly tied to the back of a car with a rope around its neck and dragged through town, causing horrific injuries, leaving a trail of blood for 100 metres, and then dumped in a nearby park.

According to a report in the Warrnambool Standard:

The witness, who wished to remain anonymous, said he was returning home from work at South West Healthcare at around 5.15pm on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, when Koroit saw a ute coming towards him on King Street:

This was the normal route I usually took, a road that looked completely unsuspicious from the front. But as I got closer, this ute started to move away and when I came to the car, I saw the koala being dragged on the road. [by a rope].

The witness said he turned his car around and tried to follow it to get details of the vehicle, but it drove away before him.

He said the injured animal was dumped in Victoria Park.

The witness said that when he arrived at the koala’s accommodation it was clear how seriously injured he was:

If you look at the koala on the right side, it was very injured, the gravel was scraped off… the left side of the koala was stripped down to the bone, to the muscle.

He was sitting upright and kind of rocking back and forth to get through all the pain that poor thing was enduring. I think there is a lot more damage than you can see.

The woman said she called services to help the animal with the help of another witness. He said he sat a few feet away and talked to the animal to keep it calm until animal rescuers arrived.

The koala, in terrible pain, was removed by the rescuer, who faced another dilemma as there was no vet on duty at the local veterinary practice. It was lucky to have a volunteer veterinarian. Mosswood Wildlife Sanctuary was present and the suffering koala was euthanized. The injuries were horrific; The injured koala had no chance of survival.

If there is no rescuer or veterinarian, the fate of the koala is not worth thinking about. It is difficult to get veterinary treatment as there is no wildlife hospital in the area where the state’s largest koala population lives.

Under the current Victorian government’s inadequate anti-cruelty legislation, any investigation into this sadistic, brutal cruelty will be Protection RegulatorPart of the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA). A department that has been the focus of extreme criticism from many conservation groups, sanctuaries and local communities for its lack of action on wildlife issues.

according to Protection Regulator An arrest was made on the Facebook page, but the alleged perpetrator was released.

A man has been arrested after allegations a koala was dragged by a vehicle on a highway in south-west Victoria. The incident allegedly occurred in Koroit on Wednesday, before the koala was found seriously injured in Victoria Park. Due to the extent of the injuries, the koala was euthanized.

A man was arrested by Victoria Police Yesterday and was interviewed by the Conservation Regulator regarding Wildlife Cruelty offences. The 67-year-old has been released and is expected to be charged upon summons.

Why wasn’t he jailed? What kind of sadistic tortures can the legal system inflict on animals while it is dragging on? Ask yourself the fundamental question.

If a person with a rope around his neck is tied to the back of a car and dragged down the street, will the perpetrator be released? If a person died from their injuries, would the perpetrator be charged with murder?

What’s the difference?

Since there is no wildlife hospital in the area, the situation of injured wild animals can only be described as hopeless.

In 2023, Allan Labor Government It was promised to build a $4.7 million wildlife hospital in the region to be operated by . Zoos Victoria. The hospital did not progress.

Liberal MP Rome BritnellThe member for the south-west coast raised the issue in Parliament in November 2025, saying:

“I am furious. Two years later there is no timetable, no consultation and no visible progress. When I pressed the Minister the response was surprising. They claimed there was no suitable land on the Southwest Coast. There is plenty of public and private land in our region.”

in 2019 RSPCA Victoria signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Andrews Government; this MOU rejected agency enforcement of wildlife issues and instead gave the conservation regulator the authority to sue.

Draft animal care and protection bill quietly introduced shelved By the Victorian Government in March this year. The bill was designed to eliminate this situation Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Available evidence of government cruelty indicates that both the Andrews and Allan Labor governments were committed to ensuring that Victorian minimum protections for animals continued.

Given that the Victorian Labor Government has worked tirelessly to undermine all forms of wildlife protection and dismantle the powers of RSPCA Victoria, the public is entitled to ask why sentient animals are now treated as “objects in the way” and there is a significantly limited focus on cruelty and delegation to bureaucrats.

Premeditated murder in March seven kangaroos What happened in Victoria’s Flinders has caused deep concern.

Wildlife rescuer Virginia Carter in question The injuries were consistent with being struck by vehicles and possibly being shot:

“All of them were seriously injured. Five of them had their legs broken, two of them had head injuries. A dead cub was lying next to its mother with a torn pouch.”

A similar incident took place in the same region in December last year.

Once again, the horrific incident was not reported to RSPCA Victoria as the Memorandum of Understanding denies any wildlife enforcement. Instead, DEECA, Victoria Police and Parks Victoria were notified. No updates were offered.

POCTA is dead in the water in many states. Queensland passed Animal Care and Protection Act In 2001. in South Australia Animal Welfare Act, The RSPCA is the primary organization investigating animal cruelty. WA replaced POCTA with: Animal Welfare Act 2002. RSPCA inspectors have the authority to carry out prosecutions.

It is important to note that these legislative changes remove the issue of “prevention of cruelty” and replace it with the issue of “animal welfare”, which are two different issues.

one in NSW terrible event The incident at Wyee Point, where seven kangaroos were found dead in multiple locations, suggests a deliberate hit-and-run. The sole survivor, Joey, died while in care.

The local kangaroo gang was loved by locals who are still traumatized and deeply concerned.

State Government in South Australia pay bonus $5 to $7 for each kangaroo shot, at least 100 kangaroos. More than 80,000 kangaroos have been shot since 2025.

aim? ‘To reduce grazing pressure’.

Australia will soon be known as a cruel country. However, efforts to keep the increasing acts of cruelty, especially against koalas and kangaroos, away from the mainstream and international media are important.

As a result, the suffering of Australia’s defenseless wildlife is a crime against nature. Those who allow protection and those who undermine it are equally responsible for heinous acts that would shame any nation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=/lswmXOc4G-s

If this article causes any problems for you, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or
Call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or online at: 1800RESPECT.org.au.

Sue Arnold is an IA columnist and freelance investigative journalist. You can follow Sue on Twitter @koalacrisis.

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