A 43-year-old man has been fined $5000 and permanently prohibited from being in charge of an animal for beating and otherwise injuring his pet pig named Pan.
The Armadale Magistrates Court heard RSPCA WA received mobile phone footage in October 2021 of the offender abusing Pan.
A witness statement suggests the offender was trying to teach Pan to dig. He was heard yelling obscenities at him and seen pushing Pan's head into the ground, punching him, pulling him along by a metal choker chain and biting his ear.
Pan was heard squealing and seen trying to escape.
An RSPCA WA inspector who attended the accused's home following the incident said Pan had signs of having been bitten, choked and beaten which a subsequent vet examination confirmed.
The offender told the RSPCA inspector he was trying to teach Pan to walk on a lead and that he bit the pig after the pig bit his nose.
In sentencing, Magistrate Matthew Holgate said the "bizarre, cruel and extended nature" of the offender's behaviour could "only be described as torture".
"(It was) completely unjustified, irrational and cruel course of conduct over a period of time," he said. RSPCA WA Inspector Manager Kylie Green said the offender had chosen an ineffective and illegal way to try and train Pan.
"Pigs are highly intelligent animals who respond to rewards and kindness," she said.
"The beating Pan took would have left him terrified and in pain – all from the person who was supposed to love and protect him."
Pan has since made a full recovery in RSPCA WA's care and been adopted.
The accused was convicted under sections 19(1) and 19(2)(a) of the Animal Welfare Act 2002. He was found to have been cruel to an animal in that he ill-treated the pig.
RSPCA WA thanked Doug Johnson from Francis Burt Chambers and K&L Gates for their assistance in this matter.
The maximum penalty for a charge of animal cruelty is a $50,000 fine and five years in prison.
The RSPCA relies on the community to report incidents of suspected cruelty and neglect. Report cruelty 24/7 on 1300 CRUELTY (1300 278 358) or at rspcawa.org.au
