RSPCA prosecutions co-ordinator Jason Nichols said the organisation could now rehouse or destroy 45 dogs and three pigs seized in May.

RSPCA officers found 127 dogs and six pigs at a property on Six Chain Road, Henty, south-east of Casterton, of which

82 dogs and three pigs had to be put down.

South Australian Margarete Higham has been arrested and has been charged with 85 offences.

Mr Nichols told court yesterday he had sent a letter to Mrs Higham's lawyers about the application under the Prevention Of Cruelty Act but received no response. He said it was hoped homes could be found for most of the 25 puppies in the RSPCA'S care but the future of the adult dogs would depend on their temperament.

Mr Nichols said most of the adult dogs were unlikely to be rehoused, while a farmer looking after the three pigs at a Casterton property was likely to be allowed to keep them.

``The application was fairly urgent because the older puppies get the harder they will be to rehouse,'' Mr Nichols said after yesterday's court hearing.

Mrs Higham's case was adjourned for a further hearing in Hamilton on August 20.

Mrs Higham, 74, and her husband Joseph, 66, were previously found guilty in their absence at the Adelaide Magistrates Court in April of charges related to properties near Adelaide in 2006 and last year.