Grandfather Peter Smith received a non-prison sentence for an act of “sadism” when he grabbed a much-loved chicken known as Betty White at a wildlife park and threw it into an alligator pen.
Smith had seen an alligator kill the chicken for his own viewing pleasure and nothing more, Magistrate Justin Peach said in Raymond Terrace Local Court on Wednesday.
“In my opinion, there is a certain degree of sadism in some of this act,” Peach told Smith, who was visibly shaking as the sentence was handed down.
He was ordered to comply with a nine-month intensive corrections order and carry out 100 hours of community service.
Smith, 58, had pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated animal cruelty on January 2 at Oakvale Wildlife Park in Salt Ash in the Hunter region of New South Wales, but claimed he only wanted to feed the chicken to an alligator because it looked hungry.
The Hunterview man had climbed over a concrete rock wall and grabbed the white Chinese rooster from its enclosure before stuffing it inside his shirt.
Smith then walked through the reptile exhibit toward the alligator enclosure before throwing Betty White into the pond where two 8-foot-long alligators lurked.
One of the alligators put the chicken in its mouth and killed it instantly, while Smith watched.
Peter Smith has been sentenced to an intensive corrections order and 100 hours of community service.
Defense attorney Bryan Wrench said in court Wednesday that Smith was a grandfather, had no criminal record and had grown up on a farm where he often hunted and killed animals for food.
Wrench said Smith had become desensitized to chickens and simply viewed them as a food source.
The defense attorney said that more than a million chickens were killed for food each year and noted that Betty White had died instantly and had not been tortured or mutilated.
Wrench suggested that an argument could be made that the alligator involved was guilty of animal cruelty, not Smith.
Peach warned the defense attorney against making that argument, stating that Betty White had been a beloved domesticated and hand-raised chicken used in the park’s breeding program.
An alligator put the chicken in its mouth and killed it instantly
The magistrate said park staff were distressed by the fate of the chicken and considered the offense to be just above the mid-range of animal cruelty.
A psychological report revealed that Smith came from a good family and was a member of a religious community with a strong moral code.
Peach said Smith claimed he put the chicken inside his shirt because he believed others in the park might take a dim view of what he was doing and be offended by his political correctness.
“You made a grave mistake,” the magistrate told the trembling Smith.
“Your attitude towards pets needs a lot of introspection.”
Smith declined to comment outside court.