Guilty dog owner cops massive court fine over two fatal incidents
Published 30 September 2021
Justice has been served on an irresponsible dog owner who was fined $12,000 after being found guilty of six animal-related offences.
In one incident his two dogs escaped and killed a neighbour’s pet Labrador, then in a separate attack the dogs slaughtered several chickens in another neighbouring property.
The Caboolture Magistrates Court found the offending dog owner failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the attack and ordered him to pay a $12,000 fine and $616 in costs.
Mayor Peter Flannery said while the owners of the deceased Labrador would receive $1,400 compensation, there was nothing that could undo the trauma of these horrific circumstances.
“Whether a dangerous dog kills an animal or maims a child, the fact is their actions ruin lives and there is no amount of money that can ever properly compensate victims,” he said.
“Which is exactly why Moreton Bay Regional Council has a zero tolerance policy towards irresponsible dog owners, because I refuse to ignore this kind of threat to public safety.
“I’m proud that we are consistently delivering justice for victims through the court system and I want to applaud our Local Laws team for their diligence and hard work in this matter.
“Let this court ruling be yet another warning to irresponsible dog owners in Moreton Bay Region that they will be charged to the full extent of the law.
“The thing that horrifies me about this specific incident is that the offender showed no remorse for his actions and didn’t even have the respect to show up to court to answer the complaint.
“His dogs first escaped through substandard fencing and into a neighbour’s property where they attacked and killed the poor Labrador.
“The offender then failed to comply with Council’s Dangerous Dog regulations or take any steps to prevent an incident from occurring again.
“Subsequently the dogs again escaped and killed several chickens at another nearby resident’s home.
“While the vast majority of dog owners do the right thing it’s a minority of irresponsible dog owners who allow these tragic events to occur, giving dogs and dog owners a bad name.
“These types of incidents are way too common here in Moreton Bay Region and so as long as I’m Mayor we will continue to do everything we can to reduce those numbers, including investigating and sending offenders to a Magistrate to learn their fate.
“We recently increased registration fees for declared Dangerous and Menacing Dogs by up to 84% to recover the costs to the community for managing these dogs and hopefully that becomes as a further deterrent to anti-social behaviour.
“This year we began our Pets in Public Spaces program where we provided free microchipping and tips and advice on being a responsible pet owner.
“Council is also currently developing an Animal Management Plan that will further help promote responsible pet ownership, educate pet owners and enhance the safety and wellbeing of our community.
“So, I encourage all dog owners to do the right thing to prevent these types of attacks that ruin lives forever.”
Find out more about declared Dangerous and Menacing Dogs here: https://www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/Services/Animals/Regulated-Dogs
Pets in Public Spaces: https://www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/Services/Animals/Pet-Education