SYDNEY, Australia — An Australian man was jailed Monday following the death of nine puppies which he was directed for bludgeoning with a brick while high on methamphetamine.
Nathan Thompson, 25, pleaded guilty to the deaths at Kurri Kurri, 150 kilometers (92 miles) north of Sydney, in March, with one witness describing the scene as “a massacre”.
Only one puppy from the group survived, now named “Lucky”.
The court heard that the puppies were forwarded by their owner to Thompson who had previously had success in selling dogs.
The Newcastle Local Court heard that Thompson drove the puppies to some bushland where he beat them to death instead of bringing them to an RSPCA shelter.
The witness meanwhile who was walking with his own dogs heard the puppies yelping.
“The witness has observed the accused holding one of the puppies down with his left hand while repeatedly bludgeoning it with a brick held in his right hand,” court documents cited by the Newcastle Herald newspaper stated.
“The witness momentarily watched in horror as the accused removed yet another puppy from his car and proceeded to strike the animal four times in the head.”
However, Thompson’s lawyer claimed that he client was high on ice and “not in a normal frame of mind” at the time.
But Magistrate Robert Stone said that ac was “deplorable and distressing” pursuing the sentence.
He was also banned from animal ownership for life.
RSPCA New South Wales chief inspector David O’Shannessy also hoped that the message about animal cruelty is clear following Thompson’s case.
“These sort of attacks of brutal, deliberate and premeditated animal cruelty will not be tolerated by the courts and also the public,” he said, the Newcastle Herald reported.
H/T: Inquirer.net
