He bashed puppies to death with brick
Lawyer for Australian man says he was high on drugs
An Australian man has been jailed for 18 months for bludgeoning to death nine puppies with a brick while high on methamphetamine, the drug commonly known as Ice.
Nathan Thompson, 25, pleaded guilty to the horrific deaths at Kurri Kurri, a town 150km north of Sydney. One witness described the scene of the March incident as "a massacre".
Only one puppy from the group, now named Lucky, survived, AFP reported.
The court heard that the puppies were initially offered for sale on the Internet by their owner. When no one bought them, he took them to Thompson who previously had success in selling dogs.
The Newcastle Local Court heard that Thompson considered taking the puppies to a Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Australia shelter but instead, chose to kill them.
He drove to some bushland where he beat them to death. A witness walking his own dogs heard a number of them yelping.
"The witness has observed the accused holding one of the puppies down with his left hand, while repeatedly bludgeoning it with a brick held in his right hand," the Newcastle Herald newspaper quoted court documents as saying.
"The witness momentarily watched in horror as the accused removed yet another puppy from his car and proceeded to strike the animal four times in the head."
In handing down the sentence, Magistrate Robert Stone said the act was "deplorable and distressing", despite Thompson's lawyer claiming he was high on Ice and "not in a normal frame of mind" at the time.
Thompson was also banned from animal ownership for life.
He had told police he chose to kill them himself as he didn't have enough fuel in his car to make it to the local shelter, reported The Herald Sun.
Earlier yesterday when Thompson entered the court for the sentencing hearing, campaigners outside yelled out "no excuse for animal abuse", reported ABC News.
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