Pigs bashed with mallet, court told
A man admitted hitting pigs about the head, neck, and shoulders with a steel mallet, and driving over a pig’s head on his quad bike, at an appearance in the Christchurch District Court yesterday.
Clayton Thomas Dovey, 49, admitted two charges of cruelty and ill treatment of animals, on a property at West Eyreton.
He was loading four pigs onto a trailer to be taken for slaughter in April 2013, and was being assisted by five other people, including two teenagers.
The first pig attempted to get off the trailer and Dovey struck it on the head. The next two pigs were struck about the head, neck, and shoulders but the fourth pig escaped and was rounded up by Dovey.
He hit that pig repeatedly with a mallet, and chased it around the yard until it became dazed, then hit it with a metal bar.
Police say the attack on this pig went on for about 30 minutes with no attempt to load the pig onto the trailer.
Dovey offered the mallet to one of the teenage boys and told him it was his turn, but the boy refused and left the pen suggesting the pig should be killed.
Dovey then drove his quad motorbike towards the pig, positioned its head between the wheel and the wheel arch of the motorbike and drove over the pig’s head.
The pigs were slaughtered a week later and a veterinarian inspected the bodies. The veterinarian’s report said two of the pigs had significant injuries, and there was notable bruising on another pig.
It said the blows to the pigs would have resulted in significant pain and distress, and would have likely killed any human.
Judge David Saunders remanded Dovey on bail for sentencing on March 7, and asked for a pre-sentence report, and said Dovey would have to pay reparation for the veterinarian’s fees.
Category: Focus
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