Fifty-three ringtail possums and three brushtail possums have been mutilated in the past 10 months in Melbourne's east, as the RSPCA says that cruelty towards possums is rising.

In the past month, four severely injured brushtail possums have been found by rescuers in the Knox region, three of them with their paws and tails cut off. Animal rights campaigners are pointing the finger at gardeners going to extreme measures to rid themselves of the native animals.

Animal activist Rheya Linden at Curtain Square gardens tending to an injured possum that she thinks was attacked by a dog. Credit:Angela Wylie

Boronia animal shelter operator Yvonne Cowling also says "people with nothing better to do" are setting brutal traps and slicing off limbs.

“Some residents set up fishing wire snares to catch possums, which traps the animal and when they try to escape tears their tails and paws off,” Ms Cowling said.