A man who had sexual intercourse with a goat on two separate occasions last year will face a sentence in the Tasmania Supreme Court in September.
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Jacob Heatlie Johnston, 21, pleaded guilty in the Launceston Magistrates Court to two counts of bestiality on June 10, 2022, at Branxholm and on November 3, 2022.
He was not represented by a lawyer.
In his first appearance on the charge, Johnston pleaded guilty.
Magistrate Simon Brown allowed him to continue on bail and committed him to face sentencing on September 4, 2023.
The Examiner reported last year that a man was seen on CCTV lifting a goat out of its enclosure before taking it into a bathroom stall at about 2am on June 10.
The goat's owner made a formal complaint to the police the next day.
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It was reported that the goat was under the care of a local vet and that the animal's owner was distressed about the crime.
The maximum penalty under the Animal Welfare Act is 100 penalty units ($173 equals one penalty unit) and/or up to 12 months jail or up to 21 years in prison for bestiality under the Criminal Code.
At the time, RSPCA chief executive Jan Davis said the seriousness of the offence had been recognised by recent changes in animal welfare laws in NSW.
"The RSPCA believes everyone has a responsibility to treat animals with dignity, without cruelty or exploitation. In the words of politician and writer Joseph Addison (1672-1719), "True benevolence or compassion extends itself through the whole of existence and sympathises with the distress of every living creature capable of sensation."
"This new legislation saw an eightfold increase in penalties for convicted animal abusers, making NSW animal cruelty laws the toughest in the country. Under these new laws, anyone convicted of serious animal cruelty or bestiality will automatically be subject to a mandatory, lifetime animal ban.
"We'd like to see similar penalties introduced under the Tasmanian Animal Welfare Act 1993," she said.
Nick Clark
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for The Examiner. My journalism career has clicked over 34 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for The Examiner. My journalism career has clicked over 34 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
