NSW’s worst animal cruelty cases including Michael Pryce, Norman Fraser
GRAPHIC CONTENT: A worrying spike in animal cruelty cases has resulted in dozens facing the courts in recent months for everything from starving their pets to death to beating them with hammers and other weapons. THESE ARE THE FACES BEHIND THE STATE’S MOST SICKENING CASES
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WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
Shocking cases of severe malnutrition and a dead dog found at a Sydney apartment are among a recent spike in animal cruelty reports investigated by RSPCA inspectors.
A State Government inquiry into the mistreatment of animals has placed the effectiveness of enforcement of protection laws in the spotlight after 15,300 complaints were made to the animal welfare group in 2018/19.
The government inquiry, in handing down its recommendations, called for increased penalties and funding for the RSPCA, which relies heavily on donations.
Committee chairman Mark Pearson also recommended a specialist police unit to be established to investigate and prosecute animal cruelty offences.
NewsLocal looks at recent cases involving the mistreatment of animals and the men and women convicted over the offences.
HONGYOU ZOU
A university student was jailed after he let his one-year-old dog Milk starve to death on a small apartment balcony in central Sydney.
Hongyou Zou was sentenced to eight months in prison on animal cruelty charges in February this year after his maremma sheepdog was found dead at the unit in Zetland.
The RSPCA said Milk’s body was found on top of a cardboard box and was so emaciated it had no fat and weighed just 10kg – one-third of the minimum standard weight for a typical maremma sheepdog of its age.
In sentencing, Magistrate Graeme Henson described Zhou’s conduct as “egregious and wicked”.
The court heard there was no food or water on the balcony which was covered in faeces and dog hair.
Zou was found guilty of aggravated animal cruelty and also failing to provide vet treatment. He will be eligible for parole in October.
ZLATE TALEVSKI
A man pleaded guilty to animal cruelty after his female dog was found in a “terrible state of neglect” with infected tumours riddled through her body and her bones protruding.
Zlate Talevski was sentenced in Wollongong Local Court this month after an RSPCA inspector found his female staffordshire bull-terrier slumped against the side of his house, with her ribs, spine and hips protruding from her body.
An RSPCA inspector first attended Talevski’s home in Barrack Heights in October last year after receiving cruelty complaints about a “skinny dog with big lumps on its belly”.
The dog had a weight of just 12.7kg, when she should have weighed between 20 and 25 kgs, and had to be put down by a veterinarian who deemed it “cruel” to keep her alive
Talevski was sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order and fined $1000.
MICHAEL PRYCE
An man was convicted of animal cruelty charges after he beat his dog with a hammer at a home in Sydney’s western suburbs.
Michael Pryce, 33, was sentenced in October last year after pleading guilty to one count of committing an act of cruelty and another of failing to provide veterinarian treatment for his pet staffordshire terrier Dwayne.
RSPCA inspectors were called to Pryce’s Emerton home in November 2018 after witnesses reported seeing the dog hiding in a corner and a man holding a large wooden object covered in blood.
The witnesses reported seeing the dark-coloured staffordshire terrier with blood dripping from its mouth and when they confronted Pryce, he took the dog away and told them the animal “had destroyed (his) synthetic grass”.
In sentencing, Magistrate Stephen Corry placed Pryce on a four-month intensive corrections order and ordered him to undertake 50 hours of community service. He was also banned from buying or owning a dog for five years.
Dwayne was made available for adoption after recovering from his injuries and has since found a new home.
SHAUN STONE
A NSW egg farmer was fined $6500 and banned from owning animals for five years after being found guilty of “serious” animal cruelty charges over the treatment of 4000 hens.
Shaun Stone was convicted in Picton Local Court in May last year after RSPCA inspectors found the live hens among about 1000 dead hens in a shed at his egg farm in Lakesland in June 2018.
The RSPCA said half the birds in the shed had a respiratory disease, most were underweight or emaciated and all the birds had severe lice infestations.
The shed was also found to have poor ventilation, broken feeders and water pipes, and dangerous wire causing the birds to become trapped with dead poultry left to decompose among the hens.
Further inspections by RSPCA officers found the hens posed a biosecurity risk to the industry and had to be euthanised.
Magistrate Ian Cheetham said the offence was objectively serious, and the consequences of Stone’s decisions “resulted in 4000 euthanised animals.”
Stone was placed on a 16-month community corrections order and was ordered to pay half of his fine to the RSPCA.
EDWARD AVANESSIAN
A 71-year-old man was hit with heavy fines after his flea riddled poodle suffered a serious dental disease and skin irritation for at least a month.
Edward Avanessian was sentenced in May this year after being convicted of six counts of failing to provide veterinarian treatment to Aviary, a white poodle cross.
The court heard RSPCA inspectors attended the man’s Lethbridge Park home in September 2019 where they discovered the dog on the ground and in immediate need of veterinary care.
The dog was found to have a serious dental disease, with rotting teeth and pus-filled gums, as well as infected and irritated skin due to embedded faecal matter, conjunctivitis and an ear infection.
Avanessian was fined $5400 and ordered to pay the RSPCA $6100 for veterinarian care and shelter costs. He was also banned from owning an animal for five years.
Aviary has since made a full recovery and was adopted into a new home last year.
SALLY ANN ROGERS
The founder of a northern NSW animal shelter was found guilty of failing to provide appropriate medical treatment to eight cats in her care.
Happy Paws Haven pet sanctuary founder Sally Ann Rogers was sentenced in February this year after failing to provide adequate veterinarian treatment and exercise control.
The Eatonsville pet sanctuary was the subject of a raid by RSPCA inspectors in July 2017, after a complaint about a concern for animal welfare.
Upon inspection, the RSPCA officers and two veterinarians found eight cats in need of immediate treatment.
Four cats were found to have varying levels of dental disease, two cats had ear infections and a further two cats had both dental disease and ear infections.
Ms Rogers was sentenced to a three-year community corrections order and prohibited from buying or owning cats for two years.
She was also ordered to pay legal costs of $11,462.
NORMAN FRASER
An Old English sheepdog named Buddy had to be humanely euthanised due to his owner’s neglect at a home in Sydney’s south.
Illawong man Norman Fraser was sentenced in March this year for five counts of failing to provide veterinary treatment of his two dogs, Buddy and Rusty.
The court heard Buddy was so ill he collapsed as RSPCA inspectors tried to lead him from the yard for urgent medical care, and instead had to be carried.
The dog was described as being in “horrendous condition”.
Buddy also had dermatitis from being soaked in urine, was covered in fleas, had overgrown nails, dental disease, and was suffering from significant maggot infestation.
The cocker spaniel poodle cross Rusty, who was severely underweight, infested with fleas and suffering from conjunctivitis and dental disease, was treated and rehomed by the RSPCA.
The court heard Fraser had not taken either dog to a veterinarian or the groomer for three years because he could not afford it.
He was sentenced to a two-year community corrections order, fined $5250 and was banned from owning a dog for 10 years.
DOROTHEA LOPATKA
The owner of a poodle crossbred who had to be put down was sentenced in court last year.
Dorothea Lopatka, 68, of Bass Hill pleaded guilty to the charge of aggravated cruelty towards her 16-year-old pet Bella after the dog was found severely malnourished with maggots in her ear, eye and mouth.
At a sentencing hearing in December last year, the court heard Bella had to be euthanised after veterinarians determined she was in such a poor condition that it was cruel to keep her alive.
The maggot infestation in Bella’s ear was initially denied by the woman until the RSPCA inspector pointed out their presence, to which the woman replied that the maggot infestation was “only just a recent thing”.
Lopatka was sentenced to an 18-month conditional release order and banned from owning an animal for three years.
MISO TRIFKOVIC
A western Sydney man pleaded guilty to animal cruelty offences after failing to provide his dogs with adequate food for at least two weeks and leaving them behind while he went away on a holiday.
Emu Heights resident Miso Trifkovic was sentenced in August this year for the mistreatment of his pet kelpie Milo and American staffy Hulk.
The court heard an RSPCA inspector attended the home in December 2019 where the dogs were found in the backyard severely emaciated, with Milo’s rib cage showing and Hulk’s hip bones and rib cage protruding.
After there was no answer at the door, the inspector called Trifkovic, who said he had gone away on holiday to the Gold Coast for 11 days.
The RSPCA seized the dogs the following day and were taken away for treatment. A veterinarian report found the dogs had not been given proper and sufficient food for at least two weeks, likely longer, and had ravenous appetites.
Trifkovic was ordered to surrender the animals and pay the RSPCA $18,121 in veterinarian bills. He was also fined a further $1100 and was banned from buying or acquiring animals for two years.
HAMID AGHAEI
A north shore man who injured his puppy so severely it had to be euthanised was banned from owning an animal for two years.
Border collie pup Asha broke both legs on her left side after owner Hamid Aghaei pushed her off his bed for urinating on it in December 2018.
Despite limping for two days, the puppy was not taken to a veterinarian until RSPCA inspectors arrived at the Aghaei’s home in Artarmon following a report of animal cruelty.
Asha was found to have suffered serious fractures in her wrist, hip and ankle, while an expert orthopaedic veterinarian performed surgery to try and save Asha’s leg.
At a sentencing hearing last May, the Downing Centre Court heard the rapid onset of serious mental health issues affecting the dog’s ability to interact with humans resulted in the puppy having to be euthanised.
Aghaei was sentenced to a 10-month intensive corrections order, fined $5000 and ordered to submit to a full psychiatric assessment. He was also placed on a two-year good behaviour bond and banned from owning an animal for two years.