Dog handler who put pit bulls onto wild pig fined $5000

The woman had encouraged the dogs to bite the pig which was illegal in Queensland, the court heard.

The RSPCA prosecuted the woman in Toowoomba Magistrates Court.

A 39-YEAR-OLD woman who encouraged two pit bull terriers to attack a wild pig on a property outside Toowoomba has been left almost $5000 out of pocket in fines and costs.

Kim Bolger had filmed the attack of July 9, 2018, on her phone and the footage was played to Toowoomba Magistrates Court during her sentence hearing on Monday.

RSPCA prosecutor Vanessa Lyons said by the sound of the pig’s squeals it was under duress when bitten repeatedly by the dogs.

“Clearly the pig is in significant pain and suffering,” she told the court.

On the video, Bolger and a man are heard encouraging the dogs with calls such as “good dog” and “good boy”.

The incident had taken place on a property at Yalangur to the north of Kingsthorpe.

Bolger pleaded guilty to one count of unlawfully allowing an animal to injure another animal.

The maximum penalty for such an offence was 300 penalty units, which equated to about $40,000, or 12 months in jail, Ms Lyons said.

“Clearly the parliament considers offences of this nature serious and conduct of this nature should be denounced,” she said.

The delay in the matter being heard in court had stemmed mainly from the defendant’s actions and that she had been interstate, Ms Lyons submitted.

The court heard Bolger was a member of the Australian Pig Doggers and Hunters Association (APDHA) and had been pigging since she was a child in Victoria.

The APDHA had a code of conduct which Bolger believed she had followed.

She had been living in the Northern Territory and hadn’t realised that in Queensland hunting dogs are only allowed to “flush and bail” before the pig was dispatched, not hold the pig by biting.

Bolger had been on the property at the request of the landholder, the court was told.

The two dogs filmed had since died after taking baits and Bolger had just the one dog now, the court heard.

Magistrate Kay Ryan said the footage of the dog attack shown to the court was “quite confronting” but acknowledged that Bolger had no previous criminal history.

Ms Ryan ordered the conviction not be recorded and fined Bolger $1500 and ordered she pay $99.55 costs of the court summons, $1000 professional costs and $2140 veterinary charges.

All amounts were transferred to the State Penalties Enforcement Registry (SPER).