I don't know what the laws are in Australia about animal abuse but here, abusers serve jail time. We had a case where a woman who was known in horse country and an avid horse lover was found with 3 very malnourished horses, she had to pay a fine of up to $100,000.00.
I don't tolerate people abusing animals, we don't even leave our sheltie outside without us being with her. We have 1 acre of land that she had full run of and she sniffed pretty much every inch, that is why I want a Blue Merle. We have a sheltie rescue league here but they put you thru stringent rules that it's better off buying a puppy from a breeder, I understand they are looking out for the dog but here they are also out for money too.