Serious Animal Cruelty Laws in NSW

Sahar Adatia.

A man has been charged with aggravated animal cruelty after he allegedly set his puppy alight in Sydney’s south-west, tragically forcing it to be put down due to it suffering extensive burns.

The incident is reported to have taken place around 3am on Friday 14 May 2021 when emergency crews were called to a property in Lurnea following accounts an apartment on Wonga Road was ablaze.

Police and firefighters quickly arrived at the scene and managed to gain access to the apartment to extinguish the fire, but the damage it left behind was substantial.

Nevertheless, it was while examining the destructed property that officers uncovered a six-month-old puppy, believed to be a Staffy, locked in a cage on the balcony.

The puppy was found to have severe burns all over its body.

Tragically, police were forced to euthanise the young dog with its burns too extensive to be healed.

“The puppy was subsequently humanely euthanised by police,” NSW Police said in a statement.

A crime scene was established and police continued to investigate the incident.

Man Arrested Over Attack While Police Allege Puppy Was Intentionally Set Alight

Now, police will allege the puppy was intentionally set alight.

The man behind the attack, identified as 39-year-old Jiman Yeon, was arrested at his Lurnea unit shortly after fire crew attended to the blaze and was taken to Liverpool Police Station.

He was charged with aggravated animal cruelty and damage property by fire.

The man was put behind bars and given an attendance date to face Liverpool Court.

Thankfully, no other injuries were reported during the attack, although residents from neighbouring units were evacuated as a precaution.

Serious Animal Cruelty Laws in NSW

In NSW, serious animal cruelty is a criminal offence under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979.

Specifically, under section 6 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 (NSW), where an act of aggravated cruelty upon an animal is committed, there is a maximum penalty is in place of up to two years in jail.

In addition, section 530 Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) prescribes up to 3-years imprisonment for serious animal cruelty. This includes killing or seriously injuring or causing prolonged suffering to an animal as a result of torturing or beating an animal if at the time of doing this had realised the possibility of causing severe pain to it but did it anyway.

Outrage Sparks Amongst Public as News Shared of Puppy Being Deliberately Set Alight

The horrific act of animal cruelty carried out by My Yeon upon the innocent puppy has since sparked outrage amongst members of the public, with many quick to condemn the man’s actions.

“What a gutless coward! Hope he rots in jail and the inmates ‘take care’ of him,” one user asserted in a report shared by 10 News First Sydney.

“Police should have put down the man too, one less monster living in this world! That poor puppy!” another echoed.

Many jumped on the idea of the man having a taste of his own medicine, with comments including, “Put him in a cage and burn him… Pure evil” and “Put down the owner”.

“He needs to go to jail and people inside there need to know what he did,” another urged.

One person perhaps summed up the attack best in simply saying, “I’m lost for words”.

As the comments reflect, animal cruelty is serious social issue.

In fact, it is also an issue that people are no longer willing to merely remain quiet about, with figures from the RSPCA showing that reports of animal cruelty cases are on the rise given their 24-hour cruelty hotline receives an average of one call every 27 seconds.

The increasing use of social media also means people today are also more open to sharing animal abuse images online and less willing to remain quiet if they believe an animal is suffering.

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