A 27-year-old man who filmed the malicious and brutal bashing of a cat near Waroona in March has been sentenced to a 10-month community-based order and 40 hours of community work.
A magistrate has also directed him to undertake anger management counselling.
The offender’s 28-year-old co-worker was last month jailed for 12 months for the bashing death.
The pair were working as fruit pickers at a property in Hamel in the Peel region when the offences occurred. Both are Tongan nationals in WA on short-term work visas.
Today, the Perth Magistrates Court heard the offender recorded the violent killing of the small black cat before uploading the video to a WhatsApp chat group. There it was seen by the men’s boss who alerted authorities.
While recording the bashing, the offender is twice heard telling the attacker to stop. However, he can also be heard laughing on the video. He makes no move to intervene, and he keeps filming for the entirety of the attack.
Inspector Manager, Kylie Green, said the cat beating was one of the worst incidents of intentional cruelty seen by RSPCA WA and the video was sickening to watch.
‘I know Western Australians were as horrified as we were when the graphic details of this case emerged a few weeks ago,’ Inspector Green said.
‘I don’t know how anyone could stand by and watch this happen, let alone find it amusing or something worth filming and sharing.’
‘That poor cat would have been feeling immense pain and experiencing sheer terror—all of it completely unnecessary.’
The offender was convicted on one charge of cruelty under sections 19(1) and 19(2)(a) of the Animal Welfare Act 2002.
RSPCA WA thanked Waroona Police for their assistance with this case.
Report cruelty 24/7 on 1300 CRUELTY (1300 278 358) or online here.
