Ryan John Pitt pleads not guilty to possessing knives in public, claims he was a regular pig hunter

He was charged for having two knives stashed in his ute, but he successfully defended the case.

A “well-known” feral pig hunter accused of possessing a knife in a public place at South Mackay has fought the police case against him and won.

Police said Ryan John Pitt had no lawful reason for having the knives in his car at 5.48am on August 30, 2020 when it was parked on a nature strip between Paradise and Paget Sts.

Pig hunting equipment including hunting knives. Photo Chrissy Harris/The Observer

“They’re not in a public place, they’re concealed in my truck,” Mr Pitt had told the officers.

The two knives were stashed in the centre console of the vehicle.

Mr Pitt told police, “They’re my pigging knives. They live there. They’ve lived there for 20 years.”

Officers asked Mr Pitt if he was going pigging at that specific time.

“That’s all I do mate, I go pigging all the time. They (the knives) live there,” Mr Pitt said, adding that he had “gone pigging” within the past week.

Pig hunter Ryan John Pitt won his case against police who charged with him possessing knives in a public place. He said they were used for pig hunting. Photo supplied by Zeb Bredl

He also said it was “well-known that all I do in this country is kill wild boars”.

Mr Pitt was charged with possessing a knife in a public place, to which he pleaded not guilty in Mackay Magistrates Court in February 2021.

Under law Mr Pitt’s vehicle is deemed a public place, but Acting Magistrate John Aberdeen – who presided over the case – said the real question was whether or not there was a “reasonable excuse” for possessing the knives.

“On the basis that a feral pig can be lawfully culled, and killed in certain circumstances, I would think that possession of knives for that purpose must constitute both a ‘lawful activity’, and a ‘lawful purpose’,” Mr Aberdeen said in a recent judgment.

Prosecutors had argued Mr Pitt’s possession was not lawful because he was not pigging at the time he was found with the knives and it had been some days since he had been pigging.

“If a person is wearing a knife enclosed in a pouch, on a belt, which is intended for use in conjunction with that person’s employment, the excusal would have to extend beyond strict hours of work,” Mr Aberdeen said.

“Journeys to and from work must, on any reasonable interpretation, be included within a period of excusal.

“Further, it would be an extremely strict interpretation to hold that, should the wearer stop at the shops on the way to or from work, perhaps to pay a bill, or pick up a takeaway, the excusal would not continue to apply.

“On the facts in this case, and for the reasons I have set out, I have no real hesitation in finding that Mr Pitt had a reasonable excuse for possession of the knives in the circumstances in which he was intercepted.”

Mr Aberdeen ordered the charge against Mr Pitt be dropped and the knives returned to him.