CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses graphic depictions of animal cruelty and may be distressing to some readers.
An 18-year-old has been jailed for eight months after deliberately killing 11 kangaroos after a night out at the pub.
Boston King was sentenced on Tuesday in a Perth court over the 2022 offences, when he mowed down the animals in a LandCruiser.
The court heard King mounted a kerb at speed to run over the kangaroos, which were beloved to the local community of Bullsbrook. Locals reportedly knew each animal by name, and were familiar enough with the creatures that they hand-fed them.
After hitting the roos, the court heard King got out of the car and used a knife to cut off the first kangaroo’s tail and leg, the latter of which he hung on a nearby fence.
Magistrate Gregory Benn said King’s actions were “extraordinarily cruel, sadistic and barbaric” and said that while the teen had friends in the car with him, he alone was responsible for not only getting behind the wheel after drinking, but then targeting the kangaroos.
“[The] animals presented you with no threat, weren’t doing any harm to anyone, and who it could be said had as much right to live peacefully in this world, just like you or your mates,” Benn said, per Daily Mail Australia.
“[They] were an important part of this local community and [residents] had to get up in the morning and see your handiwork… That’s the kind of impact that your behaviour has had on the community.”
The magistrate said King used his car “as a weapon” and that a jail term was the only acceptable sentence for such a serious crime.
King was fined $1,000, banned for driving for 18 months, and sentenced to eight months in prison on animal cruelty charges. He will be eligible for parole in four months.
