29 July 2014

A Hamilton Hill man was convicted and fined $15,000 in the Fremantle Magistrate Court today for kicking a female Chihuahua across a room so hard that she died of her injuries.

The 31-year-old man, Stanley Robinson Clarke, was also handed down a 10 year prohibition, preventing him from owning any animal for a decade.

On Monday, 17 March 2014, it was alleged that Mr Clarke entered the home where he was residing after drinking at a sports bar in South Fremantle, where an argument had broken out with his housemate.

The dog, known as Gigi, was staying at the property temporarily, and as the front door opened she ran up to greet him. Mr Clarke admitted that he then kicked Gigi so hard that she flew across the room, bounced off the bedroom door and fell to the ground.

Although Gigi was taken to an emergency vet, her condition deteriorated and she was euthanised. An autopsy revealed that she sustained non recoverable head trauma, with skull fractures and traumatic brain injury consistent with major trauma to her head.

Chief Inspector Amanda Swift said the RSPCA welcomed the decision of the Court today because of the clear message it sent to the public.

"This level of wanton cruelty is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated by the RSPCA or the WA community, as recognised by this large fine," Ms Swift said.

"Where there is evidence to suggest an offence has been committed, the RSPCA will act as the community rely on us to do, and do everything in our power to make sure we get justice for the animal concerned, but we need the community to continue to report these crimes.

"Our message is clear - those in our society who commit deliberate cruelty to animals will be prosecuted and we are very pleased that the perpetrator of this crime has been fined a significant amount of $15,000. The banning order will safeguard future animals that could suffer from this man's actions."

In the first half of 2014, RSPCA WA has reported a spate of incidents with a 100% increase in deliberate animal bashings.

Reasons for the increase in the cruelty that Inspectors are seeing appear varied and include problems around anger management, personal issues, ignorance and a lack of empathy and compassion.