Anthony and Michael Zink face Bundaberg Magistrates court for animal neglect
A former Bundaberg snake catcher has been cleared of dozens of animal neglect charges, with his son only receiving a good behaviour bond after being cleared of all but one charge.
Bundaberg
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A Bundaberg father and former snake catcher has been cleared of dozens of animal neglect charges,while his son leaves court with a good behaviour bond after being found guilty of one charge.
Twenty one of more than fifty charges the duo faced combined were discontinued before proceedings started on Friday, with Anthony John Zink facing 12 charges relating to animal neglect and his son Michael Leslie Zink, 21, facing 17 charges.
Anthony Zink plead not guilty to all charges which related directly to the care of six chickens which had allegedly been left to the father by a family member.
Magistrate John McInnes said he could not reasonably conclude Mr Anthony Zink was the direct caretaker for the animals, and he was found not guilty on all charges.
“The owner of the chickens was Anthony Zink’s (aunt) … when on the odd occasion she was unable to attend to the chickens, Anthony Zink would do so under instruction,” he said.
“The evidence in this case leaves me in a state of doubt as to whether the defendant was in charge of the chickens.”
Mr McInnes dismissed much of the evidence provided by the RSPCA and vets relating to the animals’ condition and said failure to provide detailed evidence and the typical idea of what a person might know about animal health was not enough to convict.
It was similar for all but one charge faced by his son Michael, who was found guilty for failing to provide appropriate water for three juvenile chickens and two juvenile ducks.
The court was told Michael had failed to keep water sources clean and it was at an “unacceptable level of contamination”.
Michael was given a 12 month $500 good behaviour bond for one charge of animal neglect and found not guilty on the remaining 16 charges.
A conviction was not recorded.
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