Man faces court on cruelty charges after ‘biting head off live rat’

“MAD Matt”, the man who allegedly bit the head off a live rat and posted the footage on Facebook, has faced court.

Man who ‘bit head off’ rat on charges

A MAN who allegedly filmed himself biting the head off a live rat, and posted the footage on Facebook, has appeared in a Brisbane court on cruelty charges.

Matthew Maloney, 24, also known as “Mad Matt” was charged with animal cruelty following a raid by RSPCA inspectors in the wake of the peculiar stunt.

He was charged with one count of animal cruelty and inspectors seized 17 rats and a python during the raid on his home in January.

Maloney, from Albion, appeared briefly in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday, making no plea, with the case adjourned until April 6, a court official said.

The video, which remains on his “Mad Matts vids” Facebook page, shows Maloney storming into a room, allegedly biting off the rat’s head and washing it down with three shots of vodka.

He then gets punched in the face and has a chair broken over his back before saying, “Beat that.”

The clip has been viewed more than 230,000 times, and was reportedly an attempt to create a new social media challenge.

After a string of responses on the page that branded his behaviour disgusting, Maloney posted a reply.

“The rat in the video was a feeder rat and was always going to die. I fed the body to my snake after the video and it wasn’t wasted (I like to share),” he wrote.

“All your comments are cracking me up and not one person out there will be able to say anything that will make me feel bad or make me regret what I did.

“Its mother nature and mans gotta eat!”

Originally published as Man faces court on cruelty charges after ‘biting head off live rat’