9Aggravated cruelty

9 Aggravated cruelty

[Section 9 Amended by No. 13 of 2002, s. 7, Applied:25 Jun 2002] [Section 9 Amended by No. 26 of 2008, s. 9, Applied:29 Jul 2008] [Section 9 Amended by No. 26 of 2008, s. 9, Applied:29 Jul 2008] [Section 9 Substituted by No. 18 of 2015, s. 7, Applied:24 Jun 2015]

(1)  A person must not do any act, or omit to do any duty, referred to in section 8 , if the person knows that, or is reckless as to whether, the act or omission will, or is reasonably likely to, result in –

(a) the death, deformity or serious disablement of an animal; or

(b) harm to an animal that endangers the life of the animal; or

(c) an injury to an animal that, either alone or in combination with the health of the animal at the time of the injury, results in a significant and longstanding injury to the animal.

Penalty:  In the case of –

(a) a body corporate, a fine not exceeding 1 000 penalty units; or

(b) a natural person, a fine not exceeding 200 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 60 months, or both.

(2)  It is not a defence in proceedings for an offence under this section if an animal is euthanised before –

(a) the animal dies as a result of an act or omission referred to in subsection (1) ; or

(b) the full extent of the deformity, disablement, harm or injury to the animal as a result of that act or omission is known.

(3)  [Section 9 Subsection (3) inserted by No. 36 of 2022, s. 7, Applied:30 Nov 2022] If a person is charged with, but not found guilty of, an offence under this section, the person may be convicted of an offence under section 8 if the evidence in the proceedings on the charge under section 9 establishes that the person committed an offence under .