Man Who Killed Emu ‘For Christmas Lunch’ Fined Paltry $2,500

A man who stabbed an Emu to death ‘because he wanted to eat it for Christmas lunch’ has been fined almost A$4,000 (US$2,500) for animal cruelty.

An Australian court heard that, two days before Christmas, Patrick James Andrews, 23, crept into the Emu enclosure at Alexandra zoo in south-east Queensland, where he repeatedly stabbed a 30-year-old Emu named Mary, before cutting its legs off. Zoo staff later found the animal dead in its enclosure.

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After Andrews pleaded guilty to the animal cruelty charge, magsitrate Graeme Tatnell fined him more than A$1,000 and ordered him to pay an additional A$2,800 in restitution fees to Bundaberg Regional Council.

In a revealing indication of the state of mind that drove him to carry out such a depraved and senseless act, Andrew was also found guilty of six drug and traffic offences. However, you have to ask whether such a relatively small fine will constitute an effective deterrent against apalling incidents like this happening again.

Image Credit - blmurch via flickr on a Creative Commons license

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