An Australian man has pleaded guilty to a charge of animal cruelty for snatching a well-known chicken from a wildlife park and throwing it into the alligator pen to be eaten up by the reptile.
Peter Smith, 58, of New South Wales entered his plea in criminal court after he took a white chicken named “Betty White” and put it in the alligator enclosure where the chicken was eating. Smith claimed that he merely wanted to feed the alligator. The incident occurred in January at Oakvale Farm and Fauna World located in Salt Ash, New South Wales.
When he is sentenced, Smith may receive up to two years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
His attorney, Bryan Wrench, told the court that the case was a “very unusual matter,” which was probably already clear to the court. He said his client merely wanted to feed an alligator he thought was hungry, but there was no further explanation as to why Smith chose this method of alligator feeding.
Smith was a grandfather with no criminal record, Wench argued. Besides, the alligator appeared to be happy after eating his meal of fresh poultry, the lawyer said after making a joke. Magistrate judge Kirralee Perry said she did not think it was “appropriate” to treat the matter lightly, and that Smith was facing “serious allegations.” Considering the possible jail time and steep fine, Perry said, there was “nothing to make fun of, then.”
Wrench responded by saying there are 750 million chickens killed each year, and that he was not making light of the crime.
Since Smith pleaded guilty, there will be no trial. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 20.
“Betty White” was a type of chicken called a silkie bantam chook. Police were called in January when park-goers saw the act of cruelty; several families with children were observing.
Directly after the incident, the owner of Oakvale issued a statement saying that the park had never seen a crime like this committed in its 43 years of operation. The staff were saddened over Betty White’s death, said owner Kent Sansom, especially because she had been hand-raised and was therefore very open and friendly to humans.
