Support for DPP’s decision to appeal over penguin killer’s ‘manifestly inadequate’ sentence

TASMANIA’S Director of Public Prosecutions is appealing against the sentence a man received for bashing six little penguins to death in the state’s North-West.

Joshua Jeffrey outside the Burnie Court.

TASMANIA’S Director of Public Prosecutions is appealing against the sentence a 20-year-old man received for bashing six penguins to death in the state’s North-West.

Joshua Leigh Jeffrey, of Sulphur Creek, was convicted in the Burnie Magistrates Court of aggravated cruelty to animals and taking protected wildlife without authority.

The court heard Jeffrey and a friend, who was dealt with by the youth justice system, bashed the penguins with sticks while drinking at a beach at Sulphur Creek, near Burnie, on New Year’s Day, 2016.

Jeffrey was last month sentenced to 49 hours of community service and ordered to pay court costs of $82 for what Magistrate Tamara Jago said was a brutal crime inflicted on a slow-moving and easy target.

Director of Public Prosecutions Daryl Coates, SC, has appealed against the sentence on the ground that it was “manifestly inadequate in the circumstances of the case”.

Jeffrey’s lawyer, Greg Richardson, told the Burnie Magistrates Court his client had significant cognitive difficulties, was addicted to drugs and had been diagnosed with a mental health disorder.

Little Penguins were previously known as Fairy Penguins. Picture: JAY TOWN

BirdLife Tasmania convener Eric Woehler welcomed the DPP’s decision to appeal.

“BirdLife Tasmania believes that the sentence handed to Mr Jeffrey by the magistrate last month was insufficient punishment for killing protected wildlife, and failed to act as a deterrent for others,” Dr Woehler said.

“We need sentences that send a clear message that our precious wildlife is protected, and if someone kills wildlife or behaves cruelly to wildlife, the sentence must reflect the seriousness of those actions.”

The case was covered by media outlets interstate and overseas.

In her decision, Ms Jago said Jeffrey had shown no remorse for his actions and had continued to deny wrongdoing even after being convicted following a court hearing.

She said Jeffrey had encountered community backlash for his crime and she took into account his intellectual limitation when sentencing.

In Tasmania, the maximum penalty for aggravated cruelty to animals is five years’ jail or a fine of just over $31,000.

The appeal is expected to be heard in the Supreme Court in Burnie next Monday.