About BLEATS
A group of Brisbane Lawyers have formed an organisation to campaign for animal justice. Calling themselves BLEATS (Brisbane Lawyers Educating and Advocating for Tougher Sentences) their major aim is to focus attention on the apparent unwillingness or seeming inability of Magistrates to wield their powers under the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001. Solicitor Tracy-Lynne Geysen was horrified by the spate of animal cruelty cases reported in the local media and decided to look into what the law was actually doing to deter the ongoing abuse.
“I was watching the news one day recently and a report came on about a dog that was found hanging from a tree. The announcer said the people who found the dog were shocked but no offender had been located,” she said. “Then there was the attempted skinning of a live cat and the rescue of close to one hundred animals from a house in Central Queensland. I wanted to see if justice was being served and I found out it manifestly was not!”
She found she was not alone. A number of equally disgusted lawyers and colleagues came together to form BLEATS and their supporters are growing daily.
“The Animal Care and Protection Act was strengthened in 2002 to provide for maximum penalties of $75 000 or 2 years imprisonment for the most serious of crimes against animals,” she continued. “But judgments such as a $400 fine for killing a dog with an axe or a suspended sentence of 3 months for beating and kicking a dog before hurling it into oncoming traffic makes one wonder how “bad” an offence has to be before more Magistrates enforce their powers.”
After researching this situation it became clear to BLEATS that much of the problem lay in precedent law – that is the Magistrates must look at previous sentences as a guide when sentencing offenders. As the prior sentences handed down were low, a vicious cycle developed.
BLEATS members have realised that to break this cycle they must make fellow Lawyers aware of the situation and hopefully encourage them to volunteer as “forceful” advocates representing the RSPCA at these trials. They also want to ensure that low sentences are taken on appeal. Higher sentences at the appellate level would provide Magistrates with precedents for higher (and more appropriate) sentences. This secondary element targets more funding and sponsorship of the RSPCA to ensure appeals can be brought.
BLEATS Today
BLEATS is continuously on the lookout for members Queensland wide. Today BLEATS consists of a panel of Barristers, solicitors and community members working pro bono for the RSPCA. At the moment we have 78 administration members and over 150 solicitors and barristers (including three senior counsels) and an honorary patron senior counsel Graeme Page, who donate their precious time, skill and passion to our cause. As a member of the panel you will act as prosecutors for the RSPCA. The RSPCA receives no funding from the Government to prosecute perpetrators of the most heinous crimes against animals and can only afford to allocate a very minimal budget to court costs each year.
Since starting out in 2007 BLEATS has made an enormous impact on the lives of animals in Queensland and has played a major part in bringing justice to animal cruelty perpetrators. Today BLEATS is well recognised by the Queensland courts and in the broader community as being the legal representatives of the RSPCA. As a member of BLEATS you will be mingling with some of Queensland’s most highly skilled and recognized barristers and solicitors. BLEATS also informs its members of the new developments in Queensland’s animal law community through its quarterly newsletter and is involved in educational and awareness programs more broadly in society.
It would be our honour to have you on board. As a practitioner will gain enormously from the satisfaction you will receive from lending your valuable skills in support of such a worthy cause.
For more information please contact BLEATS. | 
