Baldivis man fined $5000 for steel-jaw trap killing raven as bird deterrent while partner convicted for hiding evidence
A Baldivis man was fined $5000 for using a steel-jaw trap to kill a raven as a bird deterrent while his partner was fined for obstructing an RSPCA investigation, as another man was banned from owning animals after leaving his cat in the sun without water on a 38C day in Medina.
A Baldivis man has been sentenced in the Rockingham Magistrates Court after using a steel-jaw trap to catch and kill a raven to act as a deterrent to other birds, with Magistrate Sarah Oliver condemning the behaviour as unacceptable, cruel and malicious.
The 29-year-old man was fined $5000 on Tuesday, August 11, for using the trap, which is a prescribed inhumane device under Western Australia's Animal Welfare Act 2002. He told RSPCA inspectors he would use an egg to lure a bird, hit it on the head to kill it when trapped, and leave it in the trap to deter other birds from getting into his chicken yard. When asked if the ravens were still alive when the trap snapped on their leg, he answered yes. He said he could not say how long the raven had remained alive while trapped before he discovered and killed it, but said it could have been five or 10 minutes. He said he had been using this deterrent method with ravens for around six months.
Magistrate Sarah Oliver said the behaviour was unacceptable, cruel and malicious. She said it was an unacceptable way to treat any animal and that obviously this sort of trap is incredibly cruel and it would have been a terrifying and painful experience for the bird. The man's 28-year-old partner was also convicted and fined $600 for obstructing an RSPCA WA inspector in the course of her investigation. The Baldivis woman admitted she had removed the raven from the trap and hidden it under a mulberry bush during the investigation. They were both ordered to pay $920.30 in costs.
In another case heard on the same day, a 36-year-old man was fined $2500 and banned from owning an animal for 12 months after RSPCA WA inspectors found his three-year-old cat Tom-Tom tied to a tree branch on the ground next to a tent in a Medina park. A City of Kwinana ranger reported concerns for Tom-Tom to RSPCA WA on a 38C day in March. The ranger had seen the grey cat at Harry McGuigan Park where its tether was tangled in fallen branches, meaning the cat could not get out of the direct sunlight, and it had no access to water. An RSPCA WA inspector went to the park and saw Tom-Tom showing signs of heat distress as he was breathing rapidly and looked frozen in place, which is considered a sign of extreme stress or shock. The cat was seized and immediately put in the inspector's air-conditioned car before being driven to Port City Emergency Vets, where it was confirmed he was suffering from heat distress. The offender was convicted of confining Tom-Tom in a manner that caused him unnecessary harm and failing to provide the cat with shelter from the elements and in addition to the fine, he was ordered to pay $1961.55 in costs.
RSPCA WA inspector manager Kylie Green said the two cases showed the breadth of animal cruelty happening in WA. She said the most common cases involve emaciated animals, pets left to suffer untreated medical conditions, and appalling, dangerous living conditions. She said sadly, deliberate abuse such as beatings and so-called home-euthanasia are also becoming more common. She said what these cases show though is that our inspectors never know what jobs they will be investigating when they arrive at work each day and there is seemingly no end to the number and type of cases reported to them. The maximum penalty for a conviction of animal cruelty is a $50,000 fine and five years in prison. The maximum penalty for obstructing an inspector is a $20,000 fine and imprisonment for one year. The RSPCA relies on the community to report incidents of suspected cruelty and neglect and people can report cruelty on 1300 CRUELTY (1300 278 358) or at http://rspcawa.org.au.
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