Man Accused Of Killing 10 Puppies With Rocks Banned From Keeping Animals For A Decade

An Australian man accused of killing at least 10 young puppies by smashing their heads with rocks has been banned from keeping animals for a period of at least a decade.

Nathan Thompson, from the NSW Hunter region, is accused by police of collecting the puppies before killing them one-by-one in bushland near a small town named Kurri Kurri.

At the time, Thompson put 11 puppies up for sale on a website, and when they failed to sell, he offered to give them away for free, according to the police. When no one even wanted the puppies for free, Thompson allegedly decided to kill them.

Thompson, 25, was seen by an eyewitness killing a number of the puppies, which were reportedly aged 6- to 8-weeks-old at the time, by striking them with a rock and throwing them in a bush.

David O’Shannessy, the animal rights inspector who was called to the scene by the eyewitness, told reporters, “There were seven pups in total when we arrived and five of them were deceased,’ David O’Shannessy, Most of them had significant head injuries so you can image what the scene was like when we got there. The inspectors quickly transported the surviving dogs to the clinic but one of them died on the way.”

At the same time, the RSPCA posted a note on their website, saying, ‘There are rumours flying around about Lucky, the sole survivor of the horrible animal cruelty case in Kurri Kurri last week, that she isn’t doing well. We are happy to quell these rumours and let you know that she is still stable and under close veterinary surveillance. Her condition has not deteriorated. If her condition does change, we will let the community know.”

For his part, Thompson pleaded guilty to the three animal cruelty charges against him, as well as for resisting arrest earlier this month. On Thursday, he pleaded guilty to a further nine animal cruelty offenses against him.

While he was granted bail, Thompson is forbidden from owning any animals as pets for the next 10 years.

[Image Credit: Miami Herald]