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A Canberra man has been banned from owning or caring for an animal for two years and received an 18-month good behaviour order after being found guilty of animal cruelty in the Canberra Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

The man was ordered to report to corrective services within 48 hours of sentencing.

The incident occurred in Canberra’s City Walk on 9th of March 2025 with CCTV footage capturing the disturbing incident.

A report was made on April 1st 2025 to RSPCA ACT via email regarding the incident including a reference to the CCTV footage. RSPCA ACT Inspectors attained the footage in the following days.

**Trigger Warning**

The man is seen in the footage swinging the little dog by its lead into a concrete wall before kicking and stomping on the dog.

CEO Michelle Robertson welcomed the conviction and that penalties have been imposed.

“The CCTV footage is confronting.  It’s truly appalling that a person could act so viciously towards a little vulnerable animal,” she said.

“I thank the person who made the report to us and also commend our team who did the hard work to gather the evidence to get this conviction,” said Ms Robertson.

“We encourage anyone who witness animal cruelty to report it.  Our Inspectors look into every single report we receive, and with detailed information we can achieve better results for animals.”

Ms Robertson added a reminder that not every animal welfare report made to the RSPCA ACT would necessarily result in a prosecution or a conviction.

“Every report, however, does provide a potential opportunity to improve the circumstances for an animal as it enables our Inspectors to engage in dialogue with carers and owners, to inform them about appropriate animal care obligations, to issue verbal warnings where necessary and conduct follow ups, or even to support pet owners who are experiencing hardship and therefore cannot provide the care they want to provide.”

“It is our community as a whole that helps us to achieve good outcomes for animals.”