‘Sickening’: Fruit picker walks from court after filming brutal cat torture, killing

A fruit picker who filmed the “sickening” torture and killing of a cat has been sentenced in Perth.

A man who filmed the brutal beating of a cat on video has been sentenced to a community based order. Source: RSPCA

A fruit picker who filmed the brutal killing of a cat and laughed about its torture has avoided time behind bars.

The 27-year-old Tongan national recorded the violent killing of a small black cat, then uploaded the video to a WhatsApp chat group, the Perth Magistrates Court was told.

He was convicted on one charge of animal cruelty and sentenced on Wednesday to a 10-month community based order with 40 hours of community work over the incident, which unfolded near Waroona in March.

The offender’s 28-year-old co-worker, also a Tongan national, was jailed for 12 months in May over the animal’s bashing death after being convicted on two counts of animal cruelty.

That man, who will be eligible for parole in six months, was the first person to receive immediate jail for animal cruelty in WA.

A second man has been sentenced over the cat torture. Picture: Generic / iStock

Both men were on short-term work visas working as fruit pickers at a property in Hamel, 115km south of Perth, when the offences occurred.

Police were alerted after the men’s boss saw the horror video.

The court heard while recording the bashing, the offender was twice heard telling the attacker to stop, but he was also heard laughing on the video.

He made no effort to intervene while filming the entire attack.

RSPCA inspector manager Kylie Green said the video was “sickening to watch” and one of the worst offences she’d seen in her 10-year career.

“I know Western Australians were as horrified as we were when the graphic details of this case emerged a few weeks ago,” she said.

“I don’t know how anyone could stand by and watch this happen, let alone find it amusing or something worth filming and sharing.

“That poor cat would have been feeling immense pain and experiencing sheer terror – all of it completely unnecessary.”