People who harm animals will soon face greater consequences for their actions through welcome changes to the Animal Welfare Act.

Animals across our state will be better off because of the amendments set to go before State Parliament, and we applaud Environment Minister Susan Close for taking these steps.

There has long been a gap between what we know about the complexity of animal mistreatment, and the options available for law enforcement through the justice system.

As the only organisation empowered under the Animal Welfare Act, RSPCA SA has been enforcing the Act for almost 40 years since it was established in 1985.

Our inspectorate responded to increased call-outs in the past financial year, attending 4489 complaints and seizing 1228 animals, which were then housed in RSPCA care for an average of 59 days each.

As household incomes are further stretched, these numbers are predicted to continue to rise.

South Australian animal welfare laws were last updated in 2008 and no longer reflect the community’s expectations of how we deal with the mistreatment of animals – nor do they address the rising complexity of cases.

Neglect and cruelty towards animals often occur alongside complex human issues such as family violence and mental health issues, making inspectors’ work confronting, and at times, dangerous. Seeing the condition of many of the animals can be heartbreaking and infuriating.

Currently, penalties for mistreatment of animals are up to four years in jail or up to a $50,000 fine for aggravated offences. Many convicted offenders are let off with a simple fine.

There has long been a gap between what we know about the complexity of animal mistreatment, and the options available for law enforcement through the justice system

Under amendments to the Act out for public consultation, people who mistreat animals face up to 10 years in jail or up to $250,000 in fines, and corporations found guilty of animal cruelty would face fines of up to $1 million.

As an example, a man recently convicted for killing a Siberian husky, who received an eight-month suspended sentence in the Magistrates Court, would have been required to face the District Court and face up to 10 years’ jail for the premeditated offence.

The amendments will widen the breadth of the RSPCA’s work.

They contain a duty of care provision that requires owners to provide animals with a minimum level of care. This aims to prevent neglect before an animal is harmed by targeting people who underfeed or do not provide adequate water or shelter to animals.

This provision is likely to result in cases being reported that were not previously reported, and action taken where it hadn’t been in the past, because there had not yet been harm caused to an animal. This would result in more investigations and potentially more prosecutions.

The changes will also for the first time recognise the mental state of an anima,l and the gravity of that harm. This will lead to additional reports, seizures, shelter hours, prosecutions and legal proceedings.

There will be increased ability to enforce legislation through new interim orders forbidding or restricting animal ownership, which will help prevent matters clogging up the court system.

However, these matters will still involve a level of investigation, resources to seize animals and legal resources to lodge and represent the cases to magistrates so that interim orders can be issued.

The administration of notices, including a notice to comply with court orders and enforceable undertakings, are new processes for our Inspectorate, which means introducing training and establishing these processes and practices.

These notices would require significant follow-up, and if breached, would still require enforcement such as seizure of animals and prosecution.

Making aggravated matters major indictable offences will increase the investigation skills and evidence collection required for the District Court – for example, inspectors will need to upskill to comply with processes and prepare briefs.

Potentially, this change would require increased legal resourcing, including employing investigators who are experienced in major indictable offences investigation.

Changes to how seized animals are dealt with should streamline processes and reduce the length of stay for animals in RSPCA custody. This will be positive not only for the welfare of those animals (which in many cases will be able to be rehomed sooner), but also because the care costs while cases proceed through the courts – which are a huge drain on our charity’s resources – would be reduced.

However, if a case is contested, the RSPCA will be required to go before the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, an additional responsibility not currently part of the RSPCA Inspectorate’s work, which would also require legal resources.

Minister Close rightly says that most people show great care towards animals and those who deliberately mistreat them deserve to face serious consequences.

Tougher penalties, along with other reforms, will play an important role in reducing incidents of animal cruelty.

But the amendments must be more than just words on paper. They acknowledge the evolution of our compassionate society.

Marcus Gehrig is the CEO of RSPCA SA