A Sydney man who slaughtered an ibis before hanging it to dry in his shower and attempting to cook the bird has been jailed for six months.
Tom Quach stuffed the animal in his backpack and rode a stolen bike to his home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs before decapitating and hanging it to dry in his shower in May.
The 60-year-old pleaded guilty and was convicted on 10 counts of animal cruelty, shoplifting and drug possession.
Watch the latest news and stream for free on 7plus >>
He had said he was confused about whether the birds, commonly known as ‘bin chickens’, could be eaten in NSW.
Magistrate Michael Price referred to the “raft of matters” that spanned the past year, handing Quach a six-month jail sentence that will run concurrently for each of the charges.
He labelled the torture and beating of the ibis as especially serious.
“You just can’t treat animals like that, Quach. Do you understand?” the magistrate said on Wednesday.
“Yes,” Quach responded.
The Malabar man was also slapped with a $200 fine for each of the animal cruelty charges, totalling $600.
“It was witnessed by members of the community,” Price said.
“It is a serious matter to be dealing with birds in the way that you have.”
The magistrate chastised Quach for also making little effort to stop his shoplifting behaviour, saying he had shown an inability to comply with his “responsibility in civil society”.
It’s the second time Quach has been charged for attacking an ibis, after he was arrested in March for allegedly tying a rope around the feet and neck of an ibis outside a Sydney train station before onlookers intervened.
He was previously ordered to stay away from all Australian birdlife.
The Australian white ibis is a protected species under the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.
Quach, who had a theft charge relating to the stolen bike withdrawn, will be released on February 8, 2024.