Arabic version: إلزام امرأة من هوبارت بدفع 27 ألف دولار بسبب إساءة معاملة الحيوانات

According to ABC News, Karen Maree Blake has been ordered to pay the RSPCA $27,000 after pleading guilty to one count of management of animals and 21 counts of animal cruelty.

The 67-year-old was sentenced in the Hobart Magistrates Court to six months’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for four years. She will not serve time unless she commits another offence.

RSPCA inspectors attended Blake’s Midway Point home in December 2024 after a complaint about overbreeding and the living conditions of her cats. Prosecutor Robert Fisher told the court the property was in a state of squalor, with rubbish and faeces on every surface.

Twelve kittens were found dead in a freezer, while several kittens were decomposing around the house. The RSPCA surrendered or seized 69 cats and two dogs following the inspection.

Magistrate Chris Webster disqualified Blake from ever owning a cat again and from owning any dog, apart from her current dog, for five years. The RSPCA said some cats were euthanased, while others were rehomed with help from a local cat management facility.