Southland man who hurt seal jailed

A Southland man who admitted injuring a protected leopard seal in October last year had earlier cut the ears and tail off a domesticated pig.

Harley David McKenzie, 20, was today jailed for four months for the seal attack after he appeared before Judge Kevin Phillips at Invercargill District Court.

During sentencing, the judge described how McKenzie and two friends found the seal on the beach at Te Waewae Bay on the Southland coast on October 27. McKenzie and co-accused Michael William Matthews, 22, began throwing large rocks at it, with four hitting the animal on the head and body, knocking it out.

The third man, Phillip Ray Horrell, 23, videoed the attack, with footage showing McKenzie posing with and laughing at the seal, which suffered injuries close to its left eye and on its jaw.

After the rock attack, McKenzie and Matthews were filmed dragging the distressed animal by the tail, down the beach.

Horrell later uploaded photographs of the incident on to his Facebook page and McKenzie posted comments in which he admitted he had considered putting the seal "out of its misery".

Judge Phillips said he had done two things prior to McKenzie's sentencing which he did not usually do.

First, he had viewed the video of the attack.

"It shows in graphic colour what you did to this defenceless animal."

It also showed the amusement McKenzie had for what he had done to the seal, which had come ashore to rest.

Secondly, Judge Phillips obtained the file about McKenzie's prior animal cruelty conviction.

Just three months before the seal attack, McKenzie had been sentenced to community work after he stole a domesticated pig, which he held down and cut off its ears and tail.

McKenzie then released the pig into the forest where it was later found with infected wounds. A community probation report at the time suggested the first offence was a "one off" and McKenzie was at low risk of offending again.

The judge rejected a last-minute bid by defence counsel John Fraser for a sentence of home detention.

"These abhorrent acts have got to be the subject of condemnation."

He said the maximum penalty of six months' jail was too low for the type of offending, before giving McKenzie two months' credit for his early guilty plea.

The other two men were sentenced in October. Matthews was fined $7000 and Horrell $5000.

- NZPA