Animal basher Daniel Brighton sentenced to three years, four months prison

A mobile petting zoo owner who stabbed, hung and beat a dog will spend at least two years behind bars after being convicted of animal cruelty offences.

Daniel Brighton will spend at least two years and two months behind bars for animal cruelty offences.

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A mobile petting zoo owner who stabbed, hung and beat a dog will spend at least two years behind bars after being convicted of animal cruelty offences.

Daniel Brighton was sentenced to three years and four months in prison with a non-parole period of two years and two months at Campbelltown Local Court this morning.

He was found guilty of two charges of animal cruelty last week.

It is the largest custodial sentence in the history of RSPCA NSW prosecutions.

The Sandy Point resident repeatedly stabbed a dog with a pitchfork before hanging it from a tree branch by its lead and beating it in the head with a mallet.

Brighton’s camel Alice was attacked by a dog at his Farm Friends property.

The incident occurred after the dog attacked a camel held at Mr Brighton’s Farm Friends facility in Minto on January 14, 2016.

The 30-year-old had subdued the dog and tied it to a tree before committing the offences.

Brighton is the owner of Get Wild Animal Experiences, a mobile petting zoo which houses an array of animals.

Injuries to the camel’s leg after the attack.

Brighton’s barrister Marcel Sahade argued Brighton should have only faced a fine for the offences as he was only acting out of ‘passion and love’ for the camel which had been attacked.

He told the court that Brighton had not had any previous offences and had hoped to one day be a vet.

But in sentencing Brighton, Magistrate Shane McAnulty said the offences were committed while the dog was tied up and no longer a threat.

“It was only on his way out that he took to it with the pitchfork while it was tied up and subdued,” he said.

Mr McAnulty said that even if the dog could have been classified as a pest animal, it should have been killed in a humane way.

“When you exterminate a pest anywhere it has to be done in accordance with accepted practices and not all pest animals are exterminated,” he said.

Brighton has lodged an appeal against the conviction.

He has been granted bail pending the appeal.

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