An unremorseful business owner has been jailed for tying a ligature around a kangaroo's neck and dragging it along a road, causing severe deformities.
Michael Anthony Holmes, 61, was sentenced at Queanbeyan Local Court on Monday after he pleaded guilty last December to committing an act of aggravated animal cruelty.
Holmes was handcuffed and escorted into custody after receiving a 15-month jail sentence, with a non-parole period of eight months.
Magistrate Roger Clisdell said Holmes' lack of remorse, combined with the seriousness of the offending, meant he posed too great a risk to the community.
This left him with no other option but to impose an immediate jail sentence, the court heard.
"The kangaroo had to be euthanised. [Holmes] caused immense suffering to the animal," the magistrate said.
"That sort of behaviour is just absolutely appalling."
Tendered court documents state Holmes saw a female kangaroo lying down and struggling to get up on the fence-line of his rural property near Bywong, in the NSW Southern Tablelands region, about 7am on April 13, 2025.
Nine hours later, he returned to the scene and tied a nylon rope around the animal's neck, attaching the other end to his vehicle before dragging the roo 400m down the road.
Holmes detached the rope, but left a fastened ligature around the kangaroo's neck.
The animal was still alive but severely deformed when a woman discovered it and called Wildcare, an animal rescue organisation.
The kangaroo suffered severe lacerations to its rib and hip area, consistent with being dragged along a road, court documents state.
It died shortly after being taken by rescuers.
Police were called and inspected the embankment, finding tyre marks mixed with blood and rope at the scene.
Officers went to the home on the property and spoke to Holmes, who made full admissions to the offence and showed no remorse, the court heard.
He told police he moved the animal so it "wouldn't die on his property" and attract maggots, describing kangaroos generally as "complete vermin" and "jumping rats".
"He simply thinks kangaroos have no rights ... no entitlement to treatment," Clisdell said of the offender.
The magistrate said Holmes had hours to call a rescue organisation, but instead chose cruelty against an animal he considered a "pest".
"He has made admissions, but he's not sorry about it. That gives me the very strong impression that he would do it again," Clisdell said.
A photograph of the kangaroo showed the severity of the injuries, with a large portion of its fur stripped off its side.
Wildcare Queanbeyan micropod co-ordinator Natalie Patrick said the sentence was a "huge win" for animal rights.
"His custodial sentence will hopefully deter other people from committing these senseless acts of cruelty and torture against wildlife," she told AAP.
Holmes will become eligible for parole in October.
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