A “callous” animal abuser has been fined $2000 after he killed four magpies and injured two others.
The 57-year-old man from Merbein in Victoria’s northwest at the Mildura Magistrates Court on Monday admitted to 10 charges of wounding and inflicting aggravated cruelty on an animal at his property in June 2021.
A probe into reports of native birds being gunned down in the Merbein area led to the charges, after the state’s conservation regulator found four dead and two seriously injured magpies.
The two injured birds later had to be euthanised by a veterinarian, the conservation regulator said.
“Magpies are an iconic native bird and they are protected in Victoria,” Loddon Mallee Region regulatory program manager Glenn Smith said.
“There is no excuse for unlawfully killing or injuring them.”
Magistrate Patrick Southey condemned the 57-year-old’s actions as “callous”, describing the Australian magpie as beautiful and quintessential.
The animal abuser was slapped with a $2000 fine and sentenced to a two-year good behaviour bond.
He was also ordered to pay authorities’ costs of almost $400.
The result should be a warning to Victorians the regulator took wildlife crime seriously, Mr Smith said.
It is illegal to disturb or destroy wildlife in Victoria without authorisation.