A 20-year-old man and two 30-year-old men have each been charged with animal cruelty after a video of a pigeon being hit with a golf club was reported to RSPCA WA.
The trio were working at Norseman Gold Project at the time of the alleged offence on 17 June 2023.
One of the accused allegedly recorded and uploaded the incident to his Snapchat story which showed two other men initially holding the white and grey-coloured pigeon before using a golf club to hit it, causing the bird to move through the air for over a metre. The caption of the video read "may his soul rest in peace [rolling on the floor laughing emoji]".
It will be alleged that, after the pigeon landed, the two men on camera can be heard laughing in response; one of the men then hit the pigeon four times – its feathers could be seen to be falling out with each hit; and he then picked the pigeon up by its foot, so it was hanging upside down in the air. The pigeon was alive throughout the attack and still moving when the accused then placed it in a nearby skip bin.
The accused have each been charged under sections 19(1) and 19(2)(a) of the Animal Welfare Act 2002.
RSPCA WA will allege they were cruel to the pigeon in that they maliciously beat and ill-treated it.
Two of the men were also charged under sections 7 and 8 of the Criminal Code. It is alleged they aided and encouraged the third co-accused to commit the offence.
The maximum penalty for a charge of animal cruelty is a $50,000 fine and five years in prison. All three coaccused are due to face Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court on 23 June.
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.
