Auckland barrister Catriona MacLennan says judges need to rethink how the law should be applied to those found guilty of committing cruelty to animals.
The call comes after the High Court reduced the sentence given to a man who bashed 23 seals to death. He was originally sentenced to two years' jail, but on appeal the sentence was cut to eight months' home detention.
“In our society, how we mark our abhorrence of crimes is by jail sentences and so I think we’ve got to look not only at the result in the individual case, but at the general message that’s sent to the community and that’s why I think the High Court judge was wrong,” says Ms MacLennan.
She says the reduced sentence shows a lack of understanding of New Zealand’s poor track record when it comes to animal abuse.
“We have a serious problem with cruelty to animals,” says the barrister, “we’ve got a very serious problem that we need to address.”
She says the Government’s decision to stiffen penalties for those convicted of cruelty to animals last year shows the Beehive wants to send a strong message, but the criminal courts are not following their lead.
“We do need to have deterrents and a message sent and judges are not doing that,” says Ms MacLennan.
She says early-prevention programmes, like those run by the SPCA, should be utilised to prevent animal abuse.
Click ‘view video’ to watch the full interview.
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