Many animal lovers in Western Australia have recently become aware of a small pony, who died a slow and painful death at a local animal sanctuary.

So disturbing was her condition at the time of her death, that onlookers who witnessed her suffering contacted the RSPCA WA to raise their concerns.

This is not the first time that serious animal welfare concerns at this sanctuary have been raised with the RSPCA. Several complaints have been lodged over the past 12 months. These have not been taken seriously by the RSPCA WA. Regular visitors to the property have confirmed that despite repeated concerns raised with authorities, animals continue to suffer, do not receive adequate food, water, shelter, nutrition, dental care or vet care.

This little mare was an older pony, however her deplorable condition shows that she had been neglected for a very long time prior to her death. Older animals have special requirements, including extra dental care and age-appropriate nutrition. Further, when an animal is clearly in distress and acute pain, we as their caretakers have a duty of care to seek veterinary care immediately to alleviate their suffering. All animals, no matter their age, should be treated with dignity and respect.

This petition is calling on the RSPCA WA to take complaints of animal neglect seriously and to act on the numerous, serious complaints against this sanctuary so that animals do not continue to suffer.

This petition is also calling for the WA Government to consider introducing guidelines and regulations that animal sanctuaries across WA must abide by. Sanctuaries in WA are unregulated, accumulating more animals than they can adequately care for, leading to immense animal suffering in some cases. The Government needs to fill this void by introducing minimum standards, mandatory reporting requirements and welfare checks on sanctuaries to ensure that animal welfare standards are upheld and meet community expectations at all times.