The RSPCA in South Australia has dealt with more than 4000 reports of cruelty and prosecuted 79 people in a single year.
Launching a campaign on Sunday to combat cruelty, the service said it hoped the details of its work in 2017/18 would expose the scale of chronic animal neglect across SA.
Chief Inspector Andrea Lewis said an examination of the case files showed an alarming pattern of animal neglect that could no longer "remain out of sight and out of mind".
The files showed that 83 per cent of successful court prosecutions related to animal neglect while only 17 per cent were associated with acts of deliberate cruelty.
"For the past few years we've seen a significant rise in the incidence of starving dogs, whether caused by inadvertent or deliberate neglect, with catastrophic consequences for their animals," Inspector Lewis said.
"Animals are suffering and dying in homes and backyards from a lack of basic care or nourishment.
"It's shocking and it's unnecessary."
Between July last year and June this year, the RSPCA's nine inspectors in SA investigated 4077 cruelty reports, with the majority relating to neglect of dogs.
Seventy-nine people were taken to court resulting in 18 being sentenced to prison terms with 15 of those suspended.
The files also showed that 1324 animals were seized or surrendered with inspectors finding a further 83 animals dead and forced to euthanise another 316.
Inspector Lewis said while the causes of animal suffering ranged from minor neglect to sickening cruelty, many cases involved people who had found themselves unable to care for their animals through no fault of their own.
"Unsurprisingly, poverty, mental health and social isolation often contribute to animal neglect," she said.
