Five co-owners of a piggery in Adelaide Plains, South Australia, have been charged with multiple animal cruelty offences. Court documents allege the owners failed to ensure their pigs had "adequate and appropriate living conditions," leaving some animals in an "ankle-deep morass of faeces, urine and wet straw" without a dry area to rest.
Two of the accused, Andrew William Goss and Alison Louise Goss, appeared for the first time at the Elizabeth Magistrates Court on July 7, 2026. Alongside co-owners Garry Joseph Tiss and Joan Mary Tiss, each faces 31 charges: 16 counts of ill-treatment of an animal and 15 counts of ill-treating an animal to cause death or serious harm.
An RSPCA lawyer described the case as "probably the most serious matter [the organisation] has dealt with" during his employment. The RSPCA previously raided the piggery on Long Plains Road in July 2025, euthanising 14 pigs and issuing improvement notices.
The allegations arose following footage published by the Farm Transparency Project, though it remains unclear if the charges directly relate to the conditions shown. The accused offered no comment outside court amid protests by around 20 animal rights activists.
Under the Animal Welfare Act, those convicted may face fines up to $20,000 or two years imprisonment. The RSPCA has indicated it will seek orders for the defendants to surrender their livestock and be banned from owning animals.
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