COMMUNITY advocates say animals continue to suffer at a Moorooduc Hwy property in Mt Eliza, more than 12 months after peaceful protests began outside the site.
The RSPCA, accompanied by police, returned to the property on 11 May and seized an injured horse and a dog – the second seizure operation at the address since September last year, when 35 horses were removed (RSPCA seizes 35 horses in major operation at Mt Eliza property, The News 9/10/25).
An RSPCA Victoria spokesperson confirmed the September seizure of 35 horses was part of an active investigation that remains ongoing, and that no further information was available at this time.
Inspectors first attended the property in April 2025, responding to reports of underweight animals, and issued legal notices to comply under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986, attending more than 20 times to monitor compliance before executing a warrant in September.
The horse seized on 11 May had been nicknamed “Gunner” by protesters, who said his injured hind leg had been reported to the RSPCA continuously since September last year.
“The RSPCA came out on Monday about lunchtime with a police escort,” said Ashleigh, a local resident involved in the protest group.
“They seized one of the horses with an infection, which is great.”
A dog was also taken from the property.
“They actually saw the dogs, and they’ve taken one of the dogs,” said Ashleigh.
“It’s the first time the RSPCA has ever really shown any interest in the dogs.”
Protest spokesperson John Formby said the group understands a case is being built against the property owner, and that DEECA (the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action) had also been onsite to test the animals’ drinking water, although this could not be independently confirmed.
The protests, held on public land along Moorooduc Hwy, began in April 2025 after an anonymous post on a local Facebook page for horse owners – which has a membership of several thousand – asked whether anyone had reported concerns about the property.
About 100 comments followed, with many saying they had reported the situation without result, in some cases, according to Ashleigh, for more than a decade.
Protesters claim the property owner’s racing licence was stripped by Racing Victoria in 2016, after she was deemed not to be a fit and proper person to hold a training licence, with no adequate feeding or training plans in place for the horses.
The protests have continued fortnightly since around February this year, typically drawing between 10 and 30 people.
“The protest is normally in front of the property on public land on Moorooduc Rd and uses signs,” said Formby.
“The protests are strictly peaceful and protesters do not engage directly with the owner even when she aggressively tries to engage us. Anyone who cannot follow the rules is asked to not attend.”
Formby said the group has no official name but is informally known as the Peaceful Protest Mt Eliza group, describing it as a grassroots collective of people from diverse backgrounds united by a concern for animal welfare.
“The strength of the group is that we are of very diverse backgrounds but with a common interest in animal welfare and a belief that we have a responsibility to act when confronted with cruelty,” he said.
Goats on the property have also been a source of ongoing concern for the group, with numbers said to have declined significantly over the past 12 months.
The property owner has not made any public response to the protests or the seizures, though Formby noted the owner had used legal avenues against individuals associated with the campaign.
Ashleigh said the group remains committed to continuing until all animals are removed from the property.
“We are grateful that the RSPCA has come back… to seize two more animals from the property, but we want to continue to get the message out there that animals continue to suffer and die here. It’s not over until every animal on this property is safe.”
First published in the Mornington News – 26 May 2026
