Mount Eliza animal welfare protests are continuing outside the property of disgraced former racehorse trainer Maxine Fraser, almost a year after RSPCA Victoria seized 35 horses.
Protesters have maintained an ongoing presence along Moorooduc Highway, saying concerns remain over horses and other animals still at the property.
STPL News has followed the campaign since the first major community protest in April 2025, through months of demonstrations and RSPCA inspections.
Recent photographs supplied to STPL News show protest signs continuing to line the roadside, including messages reading “35 SAVED” and “Some were saved. Some were left behind.”
Continued Concerns Over Remaining Horses
Following the September seizure, protesters reported that 18 stallions and geldings remained at the property.
Campaigners now believe around 16 horses remain.
On 11 May, an injured horse and a dog were removed from the property during another operation involving RSPCA Victoria and police.
Protesters have also raised concerns about another horse they had previously monitored but say they have not seen for some time. Its whereabouts have not been independently confirmed.
More recently, a photograph supplied to STPL News and said to have been taken on 11 August shows an apparent wound on the lower leg of one of the remaining horses.
Campaigners say the injury was reported to RSPCA Victoria.
STPL News has not independently established how the injury occurred, whether veterinary treatment was provided or the horse’s current condition.
Concerns Extend Beyond Horses
Protesters say their concerns also extend to other animals at the property.
They say goat numbers declined significantly before the remaining animals were reportedly removed by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action in June.
Campaigners have also continued to raise concerns about dogs at the property, saying there has been little visible movement involving the animals and alleging some remain housed inside a barn.
Those claims have not been independently verified.
Mount Eliza Animal Welfare Protests Continue
The protests began in April 2025 and continued week after week, with STPL News reporting on the campaign as it reached its sixth consecutive week and later 22 weeks of demonstrations.
On 25 September 2025, RSPCA Victoria, supported by Victoria Police and logistical teams, executed a warrant and seized 35 horses from Fraser’s property. STPL News reported extensively on the major seizure at the time.
Despite the scale of the operation, protesters continued their campaign because animals remained at the property. STPL News subsequently reported that campaigners considered the seizure a significant breakthrough, but said their campaign was not over.
Recent photographs show that roadside campaign continuing into 2026, with signs referencing animals protesters say have died, disappeared or remain the subject of welfare concerns.
Another supplied photograph, identified by the source as showing Fraser, depicts her holding a mobile phone towards protesters from near the roadside.
Fraser formerly trained thoroughbred racehorses but lost her Racing Victoria trainer’s licence after being deemed not a fit and proper person, with concerns also raised about the standard of her facilities.
For protesters, the seizure of 35 horses was a significant outcome, but they say their campaign will continue while welfare concerns remain.
STPL News will continue to follow developments at the Mount Eliza property.
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