SA:Adelaide dog killer appeals sentence

AAP General News (Australia)
02-10-2011
SA:Adelaide dog killer appeals sentence

By Liza Kappelle

ADELAIDE, Feb 10 AAP - A former butcher jailed for cutting the throat of his partner's
dog's in a drunken rage has appealed, arguing it was unfair that he was denied access
to the dog's autopsy.

Trevor James Bond, 47, was sentenced to five months' jail in 2010 for ill treating
an animal to cause death after a trial in the Port Adelaide Magistrate's Court.

Bond's lawyer Blair Tremaine had argued the charges should be thrown out because Bond
had not repeatedly stabbed Nikki, a keeshond, as alleged by the RSPCA - he had instead
cut the dog's throat up to five times.

Mr Tremaine repeated this argument in the Supreme Court of South Australia on Thursday,
as they appealed on grounds including that it was unfair Bond did not have a representative
at the dog's autopsy.

Judge Kevin Duggan replied he didn't know of any murder trial where the defence pathologist
was invited to the autopsy and said it was not necessarily something that may have resulted
in a stay of proceedings.

Mr Tremaine also said killing an animal was not necessarily an offence, an argument
rejected by RSPCA lawyer Sophie Downie as simplistic, misleading and inaccurate.

"The dog died an agonising death at the hands of a person he trusted," Ms Downie said.

She said Bond had admitted killing Nikki, including telling an interviewer: "I'm a
butcher, I had my knives hanging up, I grabbed a knife, and killed it."

There was nothing humane about what happened to Nikki, Ms Downie said.

Mr Tremaine said Bond's five-month jail term should have been suspended because his
client had no animal cruelty convictions and his last conviction, an assault, was in 2003.

Ms Downie said Nikki had suffered a painful end and the prison term was not disproportionate
given the community's abhorrence of crimes against animals.

AAP lk/jl/de

KEYWORD: BOND

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