Thug throws cat off roof
A TEENAGER who laughed at a cat's "screams" as he hurled it off a second storey rooftop into a swimming pool was fined $1000 in Cairns Magistrates' Court yesterday.
The court heard that Christopher Jeffrey James, 18, paused before throwing the cat - his ex-girlfriend's mother’s pet - as his friend got his mobile phone ready to record the cruel show.
"The video footage clearly shows a man throwing a cat from the roof of a two-storey house," police prosecutor Constable Siobhan O'Rourke said.
"There is the sound of a cat's scream as he does this.
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"The cat lands in a nearby swimming pool and swims to the edge then runs into nearby bushes.
"Voices are heard laughing in the background."
Constable O'Rourke said police found the footage on March 19 during a search of the mobile phone, which was suspected of being stolen.
Their inquiries led them to Edge Hill resident James, who admitted to throwing the cat from the roof of the house at Alkoo Close, Bayview Heights, on March 11 because he was "bored".
James also told police the 18-month-old cat, which was named Gucci, did not appear to have been injured in the fall but "looked scared and would not come near him".
Magistrate Robert Spencer told James animal cruelty was a serious offence that carried significant penalties, including imprisonment.
He said he could not understand why a person would do such a thing.
RSPCA senior inspector Tracey Jackson yesterday said falling from that height then plunging into water, which cats dislike, would have been terrifying.
But Ms Jackson said the horror of the act was made worse by the fact the men took such delight in their cruelty and filmed it to show others.
"We believe there is a direct correlation, particularly of young offenders, who are cruel to animals then go on to commit violent offences against people," she said.
Ms Jackson was pleased a magistrate had taken the offence seriously, even in the absence of veterinary evidence of the cat's pain and suffering.
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Cruelty: A teenager who laughed at a cat's "screams" as he hurled it off a second storey rooftop into a swimming pool was fined $1000 in Cairns Magistrates' Court yesterday.
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