From shocking acts of cruelty to disgraceful neglect, these are some of Queensland’s worst animal cruelty cases in the past year.
From a neglectful puppy seller to a raging animal lover-turned abuser and a vindictive roo killer who ran down wallabies for fun, some of the offences have been sickening.
Penalties for such offences vary in Queensland.
The maximum jail term for animal cruelty offences is seven years, the highest maximum penalty in Australia.
However, offenders are rarely sentenced to that.
As an example, last month Mount Isa man Christopher John Anderson was sentenced for shooting 41 horses on a Longreach property in 2021.
He pleaded guilty to one count of serious animal cruelty and was sentenced to three and a half years’ imprisonment, wholly suspended – meaning he would not serve time in jail.
Anderson was also ordered to pay $9500 in compensation.
RSPCA Queensland spokesperson Emma Lagoon said the outcome was “shocking and bitterly disappointing”.
“We’ve certainly seen our fair share of awful acts of violence towards animals and this mass scale shooting is one of them.
“It really makes us question what you have to do to an animal to serve time in prison.”
Read about 18 other animal cruelty offenders to face Queensland courts in the past year.
CONVICTIONS RECORDED
DUANE ANDREW CLEARY: IPSWICH
A court heard he punched a dog that tried to rescue its owner from his week-long “campaign of terror”.
Ipswich Magistrates’ Court was told Cleary repeatedly assaulted a woman and kept her “effectively hostage” in March last year.
At one stage, her dog attempted to rescue her by biting Cleary, who then repeatedly punched it in the head.
Cleary pleaded guilty to one count each of animal cruelty, assault occasioning bodily harm, wilful damage, possession of dangerous drugs, and possession of drug-related utensils.
He was sentenced to two years’ jail, with parole release set for March 7 this year.
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Shaye Mitchell Henry.
SHAYE HENRY: ROCKHAMPTON
The Rockhampton District Court heard last year that Henry would face likely deportation for being cruel to his young puppy and assaulting his pregnant partner.
The court heard Henry’s kelpie cross sheepdog was between six and 12 months old at the time of Henry’s first assault on it, in May 2020.
On that occasion Henry had been angry because the dog had eaten some of his food.
He pinned it to the ground, punched it and threw it towards a set of stairs, before chasing after the animal and throwing it down the stairs.
The Rockhampton District Court heard how neighbours could hear Henry’s kelpie cross sheepdog (pictured) yelping from pain while he attacked it.
The court heard Henry regularly assaulted the dog, punching it between two and 10 times every few days and threw it at a railing for barking on one occasion.
He also assaulted his pregnant partner and threatened to kill her cat, the court was told.
Henry pleaded guilty to offences including common assault, assault occasioning bodily harm and serious animal cruelty.
He was sentenced to two years and three months in jail, suspended immediately with 482 days in presentence custody declared as time already served.
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Liam Brandon Maxwell, 24, pleaded guilty in the Southport District Court on Thursday to serious animal cruelty. Photo: Supplied
LIAM MAXWELL: GOLD COAST
Maxwell was jailed last April over a “senseless” attack that killed his flatmate’s service dog.
The Brisbane District Court heard Liam Brandon Maxwell threw four-year-old Shih tzu Oliver across a room, causing him to slam into a wall and die.
Police found Maxwell’s Surfers Paradise apartment splattered with blood.
A post mortem found the dog had died from severe brain damage.
Four-year-old Shih tzu Oliver. Photo: Supplied
Judge Rowan Jackson said the dog would have experienced “extreme emotional distress and fear as he was being traumatised”.
“This was a senseless, violent and frankly frightening act,” he said.
Maxwell pleaded guilty to one charge of serious animal cruelty and was sentenced to two years and six months jail, with parole after three months.
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Robert Campbell Miller.
ROBERT MILLER: CAIRNS
A court heard Miller’s animal cruelty was the worst a council worker had seen in five years.
Police and council officers found three dogs in Miller’s house – all malnourished and without food or water.
Miller’s dog was infested with ticks and fleas, had open sores and was unable to gain weight on its rear legs, which may have been due to brain damage.
The dog had to be euthanised and when Miller found out he allegedly responded “shoot the c— I don’t give a f—”.
Miller pleaded guilty in Cairns District Court to one count of animal cruelty.
He was fined $5000 and banned from owning a dog for five years.
A conviction was recorded.
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Michael James Rumpf. Picture: Social Media
MICHAEL RUMPF: ROCKHAMPTON
Rockhampton man Michael Rumpf was given a suspended sentence and ordered to pay $13,000 last year after a court heard he abused three dogs for nine months.
Rockhampton Magistrates’ Court was told Rumpf confined three dogs in a cage and used various implements, including a hose and shovel, to repeatedly assault them.
The three dogs were seized by the RSPCA and rehomed.
Rumpf pleaded guilty to nine counts of animal cruelty last June.
He also pleaded guilty to one count each of obstructing a police officer, possessing utensils or pipes that had been used, possessing dangerous drugs, dangerously operating a vehicle, driving without a licence and failing to comply with a requirement to stop a vehicle.
Rumpf was sentenced to nine months’ prison, suspended for 20 months.
He was ordered to pay $13,660.15 restitution to the RSPCA, court costs of $103.60 and legal costs of $2000.
He was also banned from owning any animals until June 2027.
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Gold Coast man Matthew Zachariah Taynton, 32, leaving Beenleigh court.
MATTHEW TAYNTON: REDLANDS
The puppy seller was charged with animal cruelty after the RSPCA discovered he was keeping multiple puppies with ulcers and infections in a faeces-ridden shipping container.
The Beenleigh Magistrates Court heard Matthew Zachariah Taynton had been keeping seven puppies, an adult dog and two cats inside the shipping container on his Russell Island property in 2020.
The RSPCA found another 13 dogs outside the container, which the court heard had no appropriate shelter or bedding.
Puppies seized from a property in Russell Island. Picture: RSPCA
The RSPCA left just three dogs in Taynton’s care, seizing the rest.
They banned him from obtaining any more but later found he had 10 new puppies.
They raided his new property in Marsden in 2021 and seized the dogs, one of which had an eye infection and broken teeth.
Taynton was sentenced to 180 hours of unpaid community service. Convictions were recorded.
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SHAUN WALSH: GYMPIE
Three dogs were removed from Shaun Walsh’s care after he left one of them trapped in a car all day with no air or water.
Gympie Magistrates Court heard at Walsh’s sentence last December that the former sawmill worker had also left a dog with untreated puncture wounds.
Walsh pleaded guilty to one count of failing to provide for an animal’s needs and one count of using a phone to threaten or harass.
He was sentenced to 150 hours of community service and ordered to pay $2005 in compensation to the RSPCA, along with $250 to the police.
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NO CONVICTIONS RECORDED
Connor Berkrey leaving the Southport courthouse. Picture: Jessica Paul
CONNOR BERKREY: GOLD COAST
A Gold Coast court heard earlier this year how Connor Berkrey deliberately ran over numerous wallabies for fun after dropping his Tinder date home in Worongary last year.
The Southport Magistrates’ Court heard Berkrey told police he wanted to “terrorise and frighten” them “because he was in a big car and it was fun”.
The 18-year-old pleaded guilty to one count each of animal cruelty and driving without due care and attention, along with three counts of fraud.
Berkrey was sentenced to 80 hours of community service. No convictions were recorded.
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Robert Kington, 33, leaving Ipswich Magistrates Court on Tuesday March 29, 2022.
ROBERT KINGTON: IPSWICH
This self-proclaimed “lover of animals” kicked a dog twice when he was “overwhelmed with emotion”, a court heard.
Kington pleaded guilty in Ipswich Magistrates’ Court last March to one count of animal cruelty.
The court heard Kington was angry after discovering several hundred dollars’ worth of fish he owned had died.
He then kicked a nearby dog twice, which ran down the street to escape.
The court heard the dog did not suffer any serious injuries as a result of the offending.
Kington was fined $1000 and no convictions were recorded.
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Kuri Kitawal was sentenced to probation for killing a kitten in a spineless act of animal cruelty.
KURI KITAWAL: BUNDABERG
The young fast food worker killed his partner’s kitten in a fit of rage but walked away with no conviction recorded.
Bundaberg Magistrates Court heard last February that Kitawal became angry when he realised his dog had escaped during an argument with his partner.
He then picked up his partner’s kitten and threw it across a room, causing it to convulse and die.
Both the prosecution and defence agreed the behaviour was out of character for Kitawal, who was a first-time offender.
Magistrate Trinity McGarvie said his behaviour was “startling in the level of its cruelty to a defenceless kitten”.
“It was also an act of domestic violence that can cause psychological harm to your ex-partner and the children that were present,” she said.
Kitawal pleaded guilty to one count of serious animal cruelty (domestic violence offence) and was sentenced to 12 months probation.
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Lisa Knudsen was sentenced to two years probation at a Ipswich Court for fatally neglecting her dog in a horrific case of animal cruelty.
LISA KNUDSEN: IPSWICH
Ipswich woman Lisa Knudsen faced court last year after her rottweiler-cross Cujo died in 30C heat while she sat inside.
The Ipswich Magistrates Court heard Cujo had been chained to a tap outside Knudsen’s Goodna home, tighter than usual, because he kept escaping. He had no water or shelter.
RSPCA prosecutor Liza Marshall said Cujo died in “horrific circumstances” from strangulation and heart stress.
He was found dead with the chain wrapped around his neck a few times, with an extreme flea burden and sloughing skin that the court heard indicated heat stress.
The court heard Knudsen’s pet galah was also found with a broken wing and was in so much pain it had to be euthanised.
Knudsen pleaded guilty to failing to provide her dog with water and appropriate living conditions/shelter and failing to provide appropriate treatment to a galah.
She was sentenced to two years’ probation. No convictions were recorded.
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Benjamin Robert McDonald-Henman leaving Brisbane Magistrates Court. Picture: Liam Kidston
BENJAMIN MCDONALD-HENMAN: BRISBANE
McDonald-Henman was fined last year after he sent his mum explicit footage he filmed of a woman with a dog.
The Brisbane Magistrates Court heard McDonald-Henman sent the video to “show her an example of (the woman’s) conduct”.
McDonald-Henman’s mum then sent the video to the mother of the woman depicted, who gave it to police.
The court heard McDonald-Henman had a clear duty of care to the dog involved and admitted to police that he had made the recordings.
He pleaded guilty to one count of breach of duty of care to an animal by inappropriate handling and was fined $2000.
The woman was not charged.
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Linda Petersen, 52 and her former partner Gregory Petersen, 64.
LINDA AND GREGORY PETERSEN: BUNDABERG
Bundaberg duo Linda and Gregory Petersen fronted court last year after their german shepherd was found in such poor condition she had to be euthanised.
The Bundaberg Magistrates’ Court heard the couple separated about the same time that their dog Sheba’s condition worsened.
Sheba was found in Mr Petersen’s care with skin conditions, infections and conjunctivitis.
He told RSPCA inspectors he couldn’t afford to take Sheba to the vet and had been trying to get Mrs Petersen to collect her as Sheba was her dog.
Mrs Petersen told them she was staying at a caravan park and couldn’t have Sheba there with her.
The court heard she also claimed Mr Petersen wouldn’t allow her to see the dog when she did visit.
The pair pleaded guilty to five counts each of failing to provide appropriate treatment for injury and one count each of failing to prove appropriate food and water.
They were each convicted and fined $2500, along with $250 for professional costs to the RSPCA and $105.35 for court costs.
No convictions were recorded.
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Former Proston hotel employee Eleanor Jayne Simpson was hauled before the Murgon Magistrates Court for an assault on her employer’s puppy.
ELEANOR SIMPSON: SOUTH BURNETT
Former hotel employee Eleanor Simpson faced court earlier this year after she kicked a puppy at her workplace.
The Murgon Magistrates Court heard Simpson had drunkenly attacked her employer’s dog by kicking it hard in the rear.
She blacked out after the incident and had no memory of it, but her actions were captured on CCTV.
Simpson pleaded guilty to one count of animal cruelty prohibited and was sentenced to a $500 six-month good behaviour bond.
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James Wallace Tree and Cindy Lee Tree faced Mackay Magistrates Court September 15, 2021. Picture: Lillian Watkins
JAMES AND CINDY TREE: MACKAY
Father-of-four James Tree was jailed last year after a court found him guilty of supplying two of his dogs for a dogfight.
The Mackay Magistrates Court heard that two of Tree’s dogs had “substantial scarring” from the dog fighting.
Tree’s wife Cindy Tree was also found guilty of animal negligence by tethering their dogs with heavy chains for 22 hours a day and failing to get treatment for one of their dog’s broken teeth.
Cindy Lee Tree (right) leaves Mackay courthouse after she was found guilty of animal negligence. Her solicitor is on the left. Picture: Janessa Ekert
RSPCA inspectors raided their home in 2020 and seized four dogs, which the court heard all had to be euthanised due to significant trauma and serious psychological and behavioural issues.
Mr Tree was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months after two months’ actual jail time.
Ms Tree was fined $3000 and no convictions were recorded for her offending.
Mr and Ms Tree were both ordered to pay $2657.62 for RSPCA and legal costs and were banned from owning dogs for five and three years respectively.
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Elizabeth Alice Verhagen, on trial for animal mistreatment allegations in Ipswich Court
ELIZABETH VERHAGEN: LOCKYER VALLEY
This Lockyer Valley dog breeder was recently found guilty of a swath of animal mistreatment charges after the RSPCA found a number of malnourished dogs on her property.
Elizabeth Alice Verhagen represented herself at an Ipswich Magistrates Court trial last year.
The court heard her dogs were seized after the RSPCA found many of them in unclean and faeces-ridden pens.
Multiple dogs had dental disease and fleas and some did not have access to appropriate water and bedding.
The conditions of some of the dog yards at Elizabeth Verhagen‘s property. Picture: Supplied/RSPCA
Verhagen also admitted to performing surgery on one of her golden retrievers by putting numbing cream on him and cutting a lump “bigger than a golf ball” out of his body with a scalpel.
She was found guilty in April of 13 charges including six counts of failing to provide appropriate treatment for injury, three counts of failing to provide appropriate accommodation or living conditions, two counts of failing to provide appropriate food or water, one count of being cruel to an animal by causing it unnecessary or unreasonable pain, one count of failing to comply with a compulsory code requirement to provide housing and exercise areas that were clean and one count of failing to comply with a compulsory code requirement by providing clean water.
Verhagen is scheduled for sentence on June 8, 2023.
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