Man Sentenced To 42 Days Jail For Mowing Down Mob Of Emus

A South Australian bloke has been sentenced to more than a month behind bars after he mowed down a mob of emus with his ute.

Jacob MacDonald uploaded a video of him plowing through the animals near the Victorian-South Australia border and it didn't take too long for the clip to go viral on social media.

Police began an investigation and eventually charged him last year with several offences including including aggravated cruelty to animals.

The 20-year-old ended up killing 10 emus during his rampage, which saw him get up to speeds of 120km/h, and has since been sentenced to 42 days in jail.

Magistrate Michael King didn't hold back during the sentencing hearing, saying to MacDonald: "You received pleasure from inflicting pain on defenceless animals."

When interviewed by Channel 7 last year, the young man said he was prepared to be locked up for his crimes.

"If that's what I get, that's what I get," Mr MacDonald said. "It was a mistake it was a silly idea. It's not funny anymore, it was at the time. The biggest stuff up of my life. I'm not proud of it."

When the video went viral, a manhunt was sparked trying to find the identity of the man. Several people were misidentified however they eventually nabbed the culprit.

RSPCA SA acting chief inspector Cheryl Doudle said: "The RSPCA would like to thank the many members of the community who have reached out with their support and to provide information with regard to the video.

"The community is understandably outraged and angry about this vision - as are we."

MacDonald, during an interview with the Daily Mail, said that emus do untold damage to the local agriculture and blamed a relationship breakdown for his dumb decisions at the time.

He said the drought has only exacerbated the situation and the reason the emus are on the road is because they're looking for food.

RSPCA SA media manager Carolyn Jones added: "We will be trying to establish the identity of this man through any means we can.

"We are shocked and horrified by the footage, and horrified for animals to be treated in this way as any reasonable person would be. But this is a legal matter that needs to be handled by the appropriate process."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Police, News, crime, Animals, Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie