The statistic, released yesterday by the RSPCA, means one animal was reported to be the victim of mistreatment in Bendigo every day. 

Dogs were the species most likely to be the subject of cruelty, with 199 reports about dogs and another 20 about puppies being lodged with the animal protection society in 2015-16.

There were also 61 complaints about the treatment of horses in Bendigo, and 35 reports of cruelty towards cats and kittens. 

The most common reason for making a complaint was undernourishment and poor provision of water and shelter.

But there were also close to 100 reports about the abandonment and wounding of animals.  

The report follows the release of a viral video last month showing a Bendigo man kicking his dog.

RSPCA Victoria chief executive officer Dr Liz Walker said reports of cruelty cases were steadily increasing every year as community concern about the treatment of animals rose.  

She said the organisation would use the new data to identify areas where community education and support was most needed. 

“Every one cruelty issue is one too many,” Dr Walker said.

“What is particularly disturbing is the fact many of the issues reported to us involve very basic animal welfare matters, such as the way animals are being housed and fed.”

Bendigo Animal Welfare and Community Services founder Debbie Edwards, whose organisation offers support to disadvantaged pet owners struggling to care for their animals, said had also received reports of animal cruelty over the past 12 months.

She said horses were among the animals most neglected because some owners believed it was appropriate to only tend to the four-legged animals on weekends. 

As RSPCA inspectors struggled to monitor the treatment of animals across the state, care for some neglected animals fell to the Bendigo volunteer service, Ms Edwards said.  

Still, she wanted the animal protection authority to lobby the government to extend the definition of animal cruelty and allow earlier intervention in cases of neglect, moves that would 

“An animal just about has to be on death’s door before you’re allowed to do anything,” Ms Edwards said.

She said education was key to preventing cruelty.

The 15 local goverment areas with the highest number of reports were: