A judge has rejected an appeal by a man seeking to reduce the 15-month jail sentence he received for dragging a live kangaroo behind his car in the NSW Southern Tablelands.
Michael Anthony Holmes, 61, has been behind bars since last month, after he pleaded guilty to committing an act of aggravated animal cruelty.
Holmes discovered the injured kangaroo, which he saw could not stand up and only moved “intermittently”, lying near a fence on his property at Bywong in early April last year.
More than nine hours later, he returned and fastened a nylon rope around the kangaroo’s neck while it was still conscious and breathing, attached it to his car, and dragged the animal about 400 metres to an embankment outside his property.
Holmes detached the rope and drove away, leaving the kangaroo with the rope around its neck.
Later that afternoon, a woman discovered the injured animal alive but struggling to breathe, and she contacted an emergency wildlife rescue line.
The kangaroo was taken to the Possumwood Wildlife Sanctuary in Bungendore, where it died.
The sanctuary contacted the police.
Judge rules medical monitoring can continue in custody
The court heard Holmes fastened a rope around the injured kangaroo’s neck and dragged it 400 metres behind his car. (ABC News: Ian Cutmore)
The court previously heard Holmes told officers he had “relocated” the animal so it would not die on his property, and described kangaroos as “complete vermin” and “jumping rats”.
A pre-sentence report found Holmes “did not display remorse for his offence”.
But his lawyer, Jason Moffett, today argued that though his client’s “disgraceful conduct must be denounced”, he had good prospects of rehabilitation and an intensive corrections order could be served in the community.
“This unquestionably will be a sobering experience for the offender,” Mr Moffett said.
Mr Moffett also tendered evidence Holmes is undergoing monitoring for medical issues, which had not been made available to the court at the time of sentencing.
But NSW District Court Judge Jane Culver said there was no evidence that the monitoring of Holmes’s medical condition could not continue while he is behind bars.
Strong message must be sent on ‘wanton cruelty’: Judge
Police previously told the court Holmes had acted recklessly, “inflicting severe pain on an already injured animal and causing injuries so extensive it was cruel to keep the kangaroo alive”.
“There is utterly no remorse demonstrated by [Holmes],” Judge Culver said.
“One wonders what line that person might have.
“The wanton cruelty in this case does not suggest that an intensive corrections order would be appropriate.”
Judge Culver dismissed the appeal, saying Holmes and the community had to be sent a “strong message”.
Holmes will be eligible for parole in October this year.