$500 fine for shooting cat upsets SPCA

The SPCA is considering appealing against the sentence of a man fined just $500 for shooting a cat with a crossbow, inflicting fatal injuries.

Peter James Cooksley, 48, pleaded guilty to wilful ill-treatment under the Animal Welfare Act after admitting that he shot the cat because it ate a chicken off his kitchen bench and sprayed urine on his stereo speaker.

The charge admitted by Mr Cooksley carries a maximum penalty of up to three years' jail or a fine of up to $50,000.

Judge Charles Blackie yesterday fined Mr Cooksley $500 plus court costs of $130 and prosecution and veterinary costs of $888.58 in the Manukau District Court.

David Lloyd-Barker, general manager of the Auckland SPCA, said: "We are considering appealing against the decision. We're disappointed considering the severity of what this animal suffered. But at the end of the day, that is what the judge decided."

Mr Lloyd-Barker said a request for the crossbow to be destroyed was ignored, so Mr Cooksley has asked for the weapon to be returned to him.

The court heard an SPCA inspector was called to Manurewa just after 1pm on December 30, after a woman found the injured cat in her carport.

The cat had a crossbow bolt directly through its body, was "extremely pale" and struggling to move.

The SPCA inspector had to remove the arrow with bolt cutters before surgery, but the cat died an hour after the operation.

Following media coverage of the attack that night, Mr Cooksley went to the Manukau police station and admitted shooting the cat earlier that day.

He later told the SPCA he shot the cat because it had come inside and eaten the chicken off the kitchen bench and then sprayed urine on his speaker.