A puppy that had to be euthanised after a brutal beating by her Christchurch owner is just one of the horror cases in the SPCA List of Shame.
The list sheds light on the country's animal abuse track record and is being released ahead of the SPCA's annual fundraising appeal.SPCA List of Shame: Horror abuse cases revealed
A Christchurch man was disqualified from owning animals for life after he beat his six-month-old puppy so violently, she received 11 fractures and her jaw was swollen shut.
A horse also had to be put down after a Horowhenua woman allowed it to become severely malnourished and infested with parasites.
The SPCA says it investigated a record 15,200 animal welfare complaints last year.
Acting on those complaints costs $9 million per year, for which the SPCA relies on public donations, with no direct government funding.
Acting SPCA chief executive Andrea Midgen says the figures are disheartening for staff.
"We have all the troops on the ground and this last year we just had a few more calls than we normally do, but sadly to say across the country it is generally way higher than anybody would want it to be."
Ms Midgen says with such a high volume of calls, there isn't the resource to prosecute often enough.
She says when some cases fall to the wayside, it allows potentially dangerous people to continue about their daily lives.
"Animal abuse can often be a precursor to human abuse, so if we come down hard on these situations, then perhaps we're protecting not only the animals of the country but also the humans in the country as well."
SPCA List of Shame 2016 by NewshubNZ on Scribd
Newshub.
