Judge convicts hobby hunters for animal cruelty on social media
A 26-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman in Australia, both from the south-west, were convicted on a total of 13 counts of animal cruelty and four counts of promoting a prohibited activity (17 convictions in total) and fined a combined total of $52'300.
In Western Australia, two hobby hunters have been convicted for the first time of animal cruelty in the context of wild boar hunting.
Riley Thomas Lang (25) and Marie Ann Parker (22) had caught wild boars between September 2022 and May 2023, released them for their dogs and filmed the attacks. They subsequently posted the videos online.
The Bunbury Magistrates Court found both guilty of animal cruelty and promoting prohibited activities. Lang was fined 33’300 Australian dollars, Parker 19’000 dollars.
Magistrate Joanne Andretich emphasised that the matter was not about banning wild boar hunting, but about compliance with animal welfare standards. “Death was prolonged so that the hobbyhunters could capture the moment,” she said. The defendants showed no remorse.
According to animal welfare organisation RSPCA, it is the first successful case against wild boar hunters inAustralia.
An investigation into the pair was launched after RSPCA WA became aware in August 2022 of videos on social media showing the couple engaged in the illegal activities.
The videos posted on social media showed the perpetrators allowingwild boars to be attacked, mistreated and tormented by a pack of up to five dogs.
With regard to the dogs used for hunting, the two worked with the dogs and encouraged them to lunge at, bite and attack the pigs over extended periods of time.
Lang told RSPCA inspector Genna Haines that he had caught the wild boars and released them again in order to film them for his YouTube channel. "That's what people like to see," said Lang. When asked whether he thought his actions had stressed the pigs, Lang replied that he had "done the world a favour".
The use of dogs on a hunt, to chase and attack pigs, is prohibited.
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