Facing critical overcrowding, the RSPCA is urgently seeking loving homes for cats

Hello, Louise, I can sing if you want. Good to see you see. Yeah, thanks for coming in. We're going to get to this. Unfortunately, often when you and I talk, the breaking news stories are horrific on animal cruelty to get one in gosnels in just a moment, and the numbers are staggering. But Kaylie's here as well. Kaylie's been a faithful RSPC, a employee, and you've got a couple of guests who you've got.

Here, Luke.

Yeah, so Kaylee's joined me in the studio today to help me wrangle these two little qtis. We have eleven week old kittens, brothers Bert and Ernie. They are very very cute, but you know they're eleven week old kittens, so they want to get out and explore and everything.

Very very active.

Yeah, they're currently available for adoption, but as a bonded pair, so you will need to take both because they yeah, they're very attached to each other. They've been with us since they were two weeks old. Yes, they've found astrays, so they were fostered and and now they're ready to be adopted. And really we've really pushing our cat adoptions at the moment because we've got room for around one hundred cats.

We've got ninety seven.

Yeah, and there are I hear eleven coming in from the one property today, so we really need to move some of our cats out. We've got them from all ages, from this young right up through till twelve year old Tuppants, who was a delightful black cat that was a very quiet home. So people are in the market, head to the RSPCAWA website.

These two are incredibly active. Kaylee has that one's Ernie, isn't it is that? What's that's Ernie? They don't look like brothers.

No, it's not unusual for litters of kittens to look vastly different to each other. Yeah, it's just really common. So just for people playing along at home. Is black and white and Ernie is a tabby.

Yeah, yeah, beautiful. Yeah, they're both very cute and they are full bore. They're like two little hand grenades of fur and fluff. Aren't they so cute though? Yeah, they are extremely cute, So they are rela'll go to the RSPCA website. Katie, nice to meet you and thanks for coming in. Kaylee is having to wrangle the right word hey and that's what that's saying, comes from hurting kittens, hurting cats. These Yeah, these are the poster child for

Yeah, that's right.

So a fifty three year old woman and her two sons aged twenty five and twenty two, have each been charged with fifteen counts of animal cruelty. Background story. We got a report back in feb were saying that a member of the public had seen many cats living in appalling living conditions in the backyard of a Gosnell's house. So our inspectors went out there actually saw thirty eight cats and kittens. They were confined to cages and pens of all different sizes, some stacked on top of each other,

All right, So this is as lou said, fifty three old woman, two sons, twenty five and twenty two, thirty eight cats in the one house and four chickens and just reading further down your release, and this quite a bit of detail about.

The about the.

How unkempt the house was, and the mess and the feces and the urine and the diarrhea or all that.

It's not for the faint hearted.

The animals had gastro intestinal illnesses, infections, dental disease and poor body condition.

Right across.

The thirty eight cats and the four iler brown hens were inside a large coup now fundamental toilist lou Is RSPCAU will allege the female. It will be accused of operating a profit britten driven commercial business of selling these cats.

Yep, so to kitten.

Far she yeah, she was or is sorry, a registered cat breeder, and all of the cats were what may be termed as desirable breeds, so rag dolls and Russian blues, which fetch a pretty penny.

All right, So the maximum penalty here is for animal Cruelly's fifty grand fine and you can cop some prison time as well, which is one of your old jobs, used to work for a corrective services need. Yeah, and they go to Armadale magistrates called on twenty fifth of July. What's your job from here? What's RSPCA's job from here?

So our inspectors who picked up this case and went out there, they complete their investigation and then determine whether charges are warranted, which obviously in this case they did.

The magistrate decides that.

Our commander in chief of Social Media Operations, Tony's in this year and the cats are quiet and down. Your cat whispered to look at this, Yeah, look at you, eleven weeks old kitten stadium. I don't think the dog would appreciate it did amazing story. Thirty eight cats in one house, the home of registered breeder.

Why do the boys get charged as well if she's the breeder.

Because they all lived in the house and they were all aware of the conditions, This is what will be alleging and therefore they are all responsible and they and I don't want to say it's still before the courts at the moment, but in evidence, in some of the things that all three said to our inspector, we will allege that or three did take responsibility.

The culpability allegedly.

Lou, it didn't escape my attention that you said there's an eleven more cats coming into the RSPCA this morning. That also from a case week where you'll be having a look at that on criminal grounds.

Too early to say, yeah, I don't know, it will be from an inspector, but as I say, from there, they're the ones that will carry out the investigation. They're the ones that have the power under the Act to take things forward or not. So yeah, I'm not aware of the circumstances of that one.

Thank you well answered like a professional, like a politician, like a politician, like a pro come back in a moment fifteen and a half minutes past eleven.

Can you believe that?

As Lu said, how do people walk past this? How do people walk past this stuff with gi the illness, poor body condition and just filth and squalor how do people keep managing to do this? Please ask Lou why people found guilty of animal cruelty are banned for owning pets for two to five years?

Why not for life?

There we go, that's a question for the individual magistrates. It's short answer is I don't know. But it's rspca WA that has the power to charge and to bring these people before the court and we argue the case as best we can, but then it's up to the individual magistrate to decide on the penalty which is available

Yep, I've asked you this the last three times you've been in. You've been you're going to get some budget money for some more inspectors. When do those boots hit the road?

So we already have a lot of new trainee inspectors, which is great because for safety reasons, all of our inspectors now work in pairs, so we've had to do quite hefty recruitment. And yeah, it's going really well. The systems working really well, traveling to regional areas on a frequent basis. And yeah, the new funding kicks in one July.

Okay, good luck, Thanks, good luck. Lou Rose was if you want to ring in, you can one double three eight to eighty two. Just to go back on to there have been some changes to the laws around the Dog Act and the cad Act, and we know a couple of pet shops have closed down.

You and I've talked about this at length.

I've talked to Melkriddle, our vet about this as well. So the new laws under the new Westralian cad Act all cats six months old and must be sterilized, lou micro chriulden registered with their local government, not with the RSPCA. How's that going.

What are you hearing?

Because we did hear there's been some problems with the registration system, with the database.

Yeah, I just you know, hear stuff. As you say, we don't administer it. I think people do. You get a bit frustrated depending on which local government area they live in at how strongly those laws are enforced.

But that is the law though.

They have to be sterilized, micro chipped and registered. And even if you only want to breed one letter from your cat, you have to register as a breeder.

I was going to say, so that's that new information recep only one letter, you still need to register as a breederround if it's just one Yeah, all right. And a lot of this is around shire's and local government and you know, rangers and part of the local government systems should be looking after all of this. Have you heard anything, either anecdotallylo or otherwise about the fact that this registration's portal is being delayed.

I have heard as much as anyone else has. You know. Hannah Beasley came out and said that state government had parted ways with the company that was contracted to establish a centralized registration system rather than each LGA holding their own records.

That's all I know.

You know, that's fine.

We are hearing the same and probably reading the same media reports that you arelu And again we talked to Melkriddle about it as well. You've got a community Action Day tomorrow and one in July, in one in August.

Tell us about those.

Yeah, So a lot of people know RSPCA WA for the kinds of cases that we've been talking about, so animal cruelty. They know that we rescue animals. They know that we have a shelter in Malagar and they can come and adopt pets from us. What a lot of people don't know is all of the community outreach stuff that we do. We're not a big stick organization except

Don't have to give us reasons why.

They can come along and get free dog and cat food, free flea and worm treatments. Dogs can be health checked. We've got trainers there to give advice, and you can get free micro chipping as well.

Yeah cool.

Now, just watching the birt Narnie in action here, So Tony's coming and as completely plicated. That's bird I think, isn't it. That's right, it's birds. And what I'm to you, Tony, how you going Katie with yours?

Are you?

Are you sure you're working in the right profession?

What's going on here? He is intrigued.

He's loving the six PR logo going on and off the big TV screen.

So I think we maybe need to put.

One of those up in our catgory to keep the cats entertained.

Yeah.

So, just for people who might be in need of any of those free things that I just mentioned, they can head along to the Anthony Warren club rooms in Clarkson today between one and three. We will be in Calgoley, Boulder on the twenty third of July and in Rockingham on the eighteenth of August.

If people want to know.

Just jump on our website click on the events link, or if you follow us on social media, you'll get details of when we hold them as well.

Yeah, well done, very very good.

The community action days they call so, as Lou said, free food, health checks, micro tripping, flea and worm treatments for struggling pet owns. And in particular, it's the expertise you can pass on to people, isn't it?

So?

Oh for sure? And sometimes it's just about putting people's minds at rest. You know, my dog's doing this or my cat's doing that, and you know you talk to a professional, they go, oh, yeah, that's completely normal, but no, it can be annoying behavior. We suggest you try X y Z and yeah it's great.

Yep one level three A. So if you'd like to speak to Luro you can.

How you going, Lou?

And all the time I've known you, you've worked here on the radio with Howard with late How do you work?

Correct?

The services? You worked at truruism Wa Just another day in Wa was one on something you and your gang came up. How are you going with this? I know you love animals, but how you going with all this? Yeah?

I love it? I feel like I've landed where I was meant to be.

I mean, when you work for the RSPCA but you're still known as the crazy dog lady, then I think that kind.

Of shows that that's your calling.

You may be Yeah, you've maybe found your people, you may be found your place.

Yeah. Look, some of the stuff is heartbreaking, of course it is.

And ultimately it would be amazing if the RSPCA didn't have to exist, because then there would you would mean there was no animal cruelty.

But unfortunately it does.

And I've got to tell you though, those good stories are the ones that, Wow.

You'd be going, Yeah, he'd be coming back into work.

Has any of it surprised you? Has any of the content any of the things you've seen? Is there anything unexpected, either in the role or the politically or you know, in the community, anything surprised.

You, Lou, Yeah, a couple of things.

So the way that people can treat their animals, even after all these years, continues to surprise me.

I know it shouldn't.

I don't know if we spoke about this last time I was with you, but there've been some charges against three blokes working on a mind site in the Gold fields who thought it would be really funny to hit a pigeon with a golf club and you did tell me and film.

It and put it on Snapchat.

So you know, you just look at that vision and you just go, I don't understand what was going through your head.

So those kinds of things free Bloodstream.

Yeah, those kinds of things continue to surprise me.

People's expectations sometimes.

You know though, and Kaylie has a lot more experience with this than I do, but they kind of treat us a little bit like a shop. So they'll come in and they'll be like, you know, I want a small, white, fluffy dog, no older than you know, two years of age. And you say, well, we don't have anything that fits that description. And it's like you're working at Big w and they expect you to go out the back and check.

The stock for and to see if there's one there's supposed to wait to describe.

Yeah, and it's like you, yeah, not a shop, Like that's kind of not the philosophy of animal rescue and rehoming. So do what we got out of the back. Yeah, that's kind of interesting. Yeah, they're probably the two biggest things.

Yeah, all right, keep up the good work.

It's a noble line of work and it's very well suited to you and your personality and your skill set.

Thank you for coming in. Thank you for bringing Burton Ernie in.

As Ernie continues to sort of try to escape and they climb up the walls. The other ones asleep.

Yeah, I'm going to sleep, Tony.

Look at you. Don't try and go and changing jobs.

I was going to say, I'm going to take Tony with me as I walk out the studio and she can come and work with us in my life.

You, Tony, she's good at a day job as.

Well, so you can't have it.

All right, Caddie and I to meet you. Keep up good work. Yeah, I'll just remind people where the Community Action Days are. At one this afternoon in Clarkson. There's something wearing center.

Anthony Anthony wearing clubrooms on Victism Parade, all right.

And the twenty third of July is people listening in Cowgooley Bold and lots of people do listen on the app these days, lou and the eighteenth of August down in Rockingham. So go to the RSPCA website they call the Community Action Days and you can find out a little bit more.

Thank you, Luke, Good.

To see you, always, good to see you, Bowie.

And maybe we'll mix things up and in a fortnight I'll bring in a big buffed dog.

Yeah all right, no, all right, thanks Lou, thanks Kaylee, and thanks Tony.

Yeah, look at you go