EXCLUSIVE
A Tasmanian fishing enthusiast accused of pleasuring his female partner with a live brown trout has been disowned by his late father’s legendary fishing club.
Ashley David Hallam made headlines worldwide last year when a video of her alleged sexual act surfaced on social media and quickly went viral under the hashtag “Tassie Trout Lady”.
Following an international outcry, the 55-year-old was charged with a string of bestiality offences, along with his 58-year-old co-accused, Catherine June Lee.
Police allege the video shows Lee, a trained veterinary worker, lying on her back in a boat while Hallam films himself performing the sex act on her with the live fish.
“This is how you catch a trout,” a man can be heard saying in the vulgar recording.
The confrontational view has sparked outrage among Tasmania’s fishing community, which has decided to distance itself from the accused couple.
Family friends told the Daily Mail Australia that Hallam’s father David, a well-respected local fisherman, was horrified to learn of the allegations in the months before his death.
Ashley Hallam, 55, has been disowned by Tasmania’s legendary Tuna Club just months after he paid tribute to his family’s long history with the iconic fishing institution.
Ashley Hallam’s father, David, was president of the family fishing club.
Just a few months ago, the Tasmanian Tuna Club paid tribute to the family’s distinguished connection with the club, where his father had been president.
But this week the family club vehemently denied any current links to the accused fisherman or his partner.
“Ashley Hallam and Catherine Lee have absolutely no involvement with the club and are not members,” a spokesperson for the Tuna Club of Tasmania told Daily Mail Australia.
“And they have had no relationship with the club for at least the last three decades.”
The club’s outburst comes just six months after it praised the Hallam family’s involvement ahead of a memorial service for their late father on January 18.
“On behalf of the president and members, the Tuna Club of Tasmania extends our condolences to the family of David Hallam,” the club said in a statement on its official Facebook page ahead of the ceremony.
‘David was a former president and extremely active competitor of the (Tasmanian Tuna Club) for many years.
During this time he was passionately involved in club competition with his family, Rebecca and Ashley.
‘The Hallam family’s record of success stands out in the deep history of our club.’
The public outcry comes after Lee’s former veterinary clinic employer also took steps to distance itself from alleged fish abusers after the sickening sight first went viral last January.
“Dear clients, pets and supporters of Kingston Animal Hospital,” clinic owner Dr. Chris Lee told clients in an online announcement.
Hallam and Lee have been charged with a number of bestiality offences.
‘I recently learned that a former hospital employee has come under scrutiny for (allegedly) appearing in a video that has been widely circulated on social media.
‘Please understand that this individual is no longer a paid employee, has not worked at Kingston Animal Hospital for over 5 years and has been a full-time employee for over 10 years.
‘I would like to apologize for any distress this matter may have caused you.’
Hallam and Lee appeared before the Hobart Magistrates Court again last week, 18 months after they were arrested and charged with a series of bestiality offences last February.
Lee appeared on Monday, facing two counts of manufacturing or reproducing a product of bestiality between February 2022 and January 25, 2023, and one count of possession of the same.
Dressed in a black suit for the appearance, the 58-year-old, from the Hobart suburb of Howden, requested an adjournment without entering a plea.
Hallam, from Dolphin Sands in the south-east of the island state, appeared on Tuesday to face two charges of making or reproducing a product of bestiality and three charges of possessing a product of bestiality in the same time period.
The award-winning angler, once a regular feature in local Tasmanian fishing columns and blogs, also requested an adjournment without entering a plea.
Both requests were granted and the couple will appear again on October 25.
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