A Tasmanian man has been banned from owning cats for 20 years after he killed a pet cat that came onto his property and scratched his stepchild.
Warning: This article contains descriptions of animal cruelty that some readers may find distressing.
Hadspen local Jack Phillips was convicted of aggravated cruelty in the Launceston Magistrates Court last month for fatally striking a Ragdoll cat named Dixie twice with an axe in August 2023.
The owner of the cat, who lived elsewhere in Hadspen, reported to RSPCA officers in August 2023 that his cat had been missing since the previous month.
The court heard that Phillips had previously complained that the cat had been coming onto his property and causing a nuisance.
According to the RSPCA, on the day of the incident, Phillips said the cat ran into his woodshed where he chased and captured it.
He then used the sharp end of an axe typically used for cutting wood to strike the cat in the head area and throat.
The cat’s body was later dumped in bushland. The incident was reported by a member of the public after videos of the dead cat appeared on Snapchat.
“A veterinary pathologist who examined the body confirmed that the cat experienced significant discomfort and distress including severe pain and suffering when the axe penetrated the thorax,” the RSPCA said.
The sentencing Magistrate said she was satisfied that the act was of a sufficiently serious nature and that it was not a less serious example of aggravated cruelty.
She imposed a two-decade ban on feline ownership and fined Phillips $5,000.
