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Greyhound Baiting


The Spotted Devil
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Amazing how ashamed people are when they're caught...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-18/three-victorian-men-plead-guilt-to-offences-greyhound-baiting/7763366

Three Victorian men have been banned from involvement in the greyhound racing industry for five years after pleading guilty to offences including animal cruelty over the use of live animals as bait for training greyhounds.

They are part of a group of 14 charged earlier this year since the airing of the ABC Four Corners program and footage taken by animal rights activists showing live rabbits and piglets being tied to lures for greyhounds to chase, or being used as teasing bait.

Stuart Mills pleaded guilty to 12 charges in Frankston Magistrates Court, including aggravated cruelty to an animal, while 23 charges were withdrawn.

He was banned and ordered to serve 150 hours of community service.

He was the owner and operator if the Tooradin Trial Track, which the court heard he had to sell at a loss following exposure of the practices and the lifetime loss of his training licence.

The court was shown video footage of Mills, 40, tying a kicking rabbit to a racetrack lure and then letting a greyhound chase after it.

The rabbit was eventually seen to be half-dead while tied to the lure.

The magistrate stopped the showing of any further videos.

"I think you've created the requisite grimness," he told the prosecution.

Mills subject to harassment and threats

During the plea hearing the court was told Mills had faced incessant harassment and abuse through phone calls, texts and letters, including threats of "you're going to get what's coming to you".

The court was also told he and his family had suffered from constant media attention since the airing of the Four Corners program,

The father of three was now working on an asparagus farm for a fairly measly wage, the court was told

Mills' father, Anthony Mills, pleaded guilty to two charges of animal cruelty offences.

He was also banned for five years and ordered to serve 150 hours of community service.

The court heard, like his son, the 74-year-old was held in high esteem by his peers.

But the revelations saw him stripped of a medal for four decades of service to the industry.

The third man, Darren McDonald, pleaded guilty to one charge of using an animal as a lure.

McDonald has Parkinson's disease and was given a two-year good-behaviour bond.

His lawyer told the court McDonald was once a leading trainer, and that his livelihood, which was built around the industry, had collapsed.

The court heard he was shamed by his offending and the adverse affect it had had on his community.

The plea hearing continues.

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