Acquittal on charges of poisoning pets

Press, 3 June 1983, Page 7

Acquittal on charges of poisoning pets

A retired Linwood man who was said by the police to have kept an immaculate garden, and who had told lis neighbour to keep her cat from wandering into his garden was yesterday acquitted in the District Court of charges of later poisoning the neighbour’s cat and dog. The defendant, Nelson John Mcßae, aged 64, had denied the charges, brought under provisions of the Animals Protection Act, of having wilfully and without cause or excuse given a poison to a cat, last November 5; and a similar charge in respect of a dog on December 4. Judge Willis accepted submissions made by defence counsel, Mr B. D. Kinley, at the completion of prosecution evidence, that there was no prima facie case to answer to the charges. He said that the circumstances of the animals’ deaths, from a restricted poison similar to that which police found in the defendant’s garden shed, were suspicious. However, there had been no proof of the defendant having wilfully and intentionally laid the poison to kill the animals.

Sergeant G. G. Cleland prosecuted. The complainant, Sally Ann Thompson, married, gave evidence that while she was in her section on November 5 the defendant appeared at the fence and told her if she wanted to keep her cat any more, to keep it off his garden. She asked how she could keep a cat from wandering on people’s gardens. He told her to keep it inside. She said, “Oh, sure,” and went inside with the cat; She and her husband went out that evening and on their return found the cat was sick, distressed and in shock. It collapsed when trying to walk, and howled and hissed. Because it was in so much pain they destroyed it with fumes from their car’s exhaust pipe. A month later, on December 4, they returned to their house after lunch to find their dog in distress. They took the dog to a veterinarian and said they thought it had been poisoned. The dog died soon afterwards. Other evidence was given

of the cat’s remains being recovered from the garden and the same posion, an organo-phosphorus poison used as an insecticide, being found in the stomach contents of the cat and dog. A tin containing this poison was also found by police in the defendant’s garden shed. Scientific evidence was that a quarter teaspoon would be a lethal dose for a dog weighing 15kg. This particular poison was in granule form and was usually administered by spreading around plants for the roots to absorb it. Insects, attacking the plant were then poisoned. The poison residue in the plant eventually disappeared through rainfall and irrigation. If there was a period of no rain the granules could remain in a toxic condition. The poison was a restricted poison and was only legally available to commercial users. .

Sergeant D. R. E. Harvey gave evidence of interviewing the defendant, who said he did recall telling Mrs Thompson she would not have her cat much longer. He had told her to keep it off his place as he had chased it off his property a number of times. The defendant said that he kept the poison to combat nematodes in his potato crop. The sergeant said the defendant’s garden was in immaculate condition, and was extremely tidy and very well set out. Cross-examined, he said the poison was in a tin labelled as containing seeds with “poison” marked on it. He agreed that there was nothing to indicate what type of poison the tin contained, or its potency or the recommended amount to be applied.

Mr Kinley submitted there was no case to answer to the charge. There was evidence that the defendant kept an immaculate garden and had the poison for his garden.

There was no evidence of his wilfully administering the poison to the animals, which had succumbed to the poison a month apart, while the neighbours were absent from their property.