Hongyou Zou: UNSW student sentenced to jail for starving dog
GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING: This was the horrific scene RSPCA investigators were faced with after being called to a student’s unit. One-year-old Milk was found riddled with maggots with her bones protruding having not been given sufficient food for three months.
Southern Courier
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A University of NSW student has been sentenced to jail for leaving his one-year-old dog to starve on a balcony in Sydney’s south, an act described as “wicked” and “egregious”.
Hongyou Zou, 25, will spend at least eight months behind bars after receiving a maximum 16 month sentence at Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday, having been charged with aggravated animal cruelty and failing to provide treatment for emaciation.
An RSPCA inspector found the maremma sheepdog, named Milk, lying dead on a cardboard box at the Zetland property on June 20, 2019 after receiving an animal cruelty complaint.
The dog was severely emaciated, with its body weighing just 10.1kg, and numerous maggots were found on its carcass.
It had protruding bones, severe muscle atrophy, overgrown nails, and blood and faeces were found on its anus and vulva.
The balcony itself was strewn with faeces and fur, the court heard. Images of the scene showed empty food and water bowls and a lonely stuffed toy lying close to Milk’s body.
In sentencing Chinese national Zou, Chief Magistrate Judge Graeme Henson said he believed the community would be “sickened and appalled” by the dog’s horrific death.
“The very fact of the existence of the RSPCA reflects, and significantly so, the overwhelming view of our community that cruelty is unacceptable,” he said.
A statement from the RSPCA revealed an inspector tried to contact Zou repeatedly between July 8 and October 10 of last year, but he avoided contact and postponed an interview.
In November 2019, RSPCA inspectors obtained evidence that he was the person in charge of Milk at the time of the relevant offences.
A post-mortem veterinary report found emaciation was the cause of Milk’s death.
It found that the dog had not been provided sufficient food for at least three months, with severe dehydration also contributing to its death.
RSPCA NSW chief inspector Scott Meyers called Zhou’s actions inexcusable.
“This dog starved to death, alone, on a cold balcony, surrounded by her own urine and faeces. She had nothing but a cardboard box. It was a cruel, needless death,” he said.
Zou will be eligible for release in October 2020.