A 24-year-old man had a criminal conviction recorded in Mudgee Local Court last week, for a videoed incident of cruelty on a joey while hunting late last year.
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Alex Sibley of Burrundulla Road, Burrundulla, pleaded guilty to the charge of 'Commit an act of cruelty upon an animal' and received a 12-month Conditional Release Order.
On the morning of Tuesday, May 28, 2019, police commenced enquiries into reports they'd received of animal cruelty.
They tracked down Sibley and seized his mobile phone. Which contained a video dated Saturday, November 24, 2018, that depicted Sibley throwing a joey by its tail.
It travelled approximately three to four metres in the air, as the co-accused attempted to shoot it with a shotgun but missed. The co-accused was seen to kick the animal before the video ended.
He said that the co-accused had earlier shot the mother kangaroo and upon discovering the joey they determined that it was too young to survive on its own. And that after the video ended the animal was 'humanely' put-down.
In the facts submitted to court for sentence, police noted the defendant's remorse for the matter that occurred in Hargraves.
His solicitor, Simon Flynn, reiterated his client's contrition for his actions. "He fully concedes that it would've been more humane to shoot the joey there and then," he added.
Magistrate David Day said, "the last two 'heroes' I dealt with for animal cruelty used a pig knife - I jailed them - although this incident isn't as serious". And went on to say that the cruelty in this matter may have been "fleeting", but it was necessary to record a criminal conviction as a form of "general deterrence".
The charge of 'Commit an act of cruelty upon an animal' falls under NSW legislation's Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979. For which, an individual can potentially be sentenced to six months imprisonment for such a matter or up to two years if it's deemed to be an 'aggravated' act of cruelty upon an animal.
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