Today, animal abuser and mobile petting zoo operator Daniel Brighton, who has been dubbed ‘Australia’s Tiger King’ was sentenced to 3 years, 2 months imprisonment for the crime of serious animal cruelty under the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW).
Mr Brighton stabbed a dog with a pitchfork six times, hung her from a tree alive with the pitchfork still in her body, and then returned some hours later to beat her with a mallet to finish killing her. A witness said he was “laughing and joking” during the attack.
“This was a horrific act of animal cruelty. There is a well-researched link between violence towards animals and violence towards people. This man is a danger to other animals and the community. I am relieved to hear his sentence includes time behind bars – that’s where a man like this belongs,” said the Hon. Emma Hurst MLC.
“It should not have taken this long to bring this man to justice. Anyone who beats and impales a dog while laughing about it should not be roaming free in the community – and they certainly shouldn’t continue to work with animals.
“In a shocking indictment of NSW’s animal cruelty laws, Mr Brighton has continued to be heavily involved with several animal exhibition facilities throughout NSW that are home to koalas, crocodiles, monkeys, lions and many other vulnerable species in the years since he stabbed and beat a dog to death.
“To make matters worse, the NSW Government did nothing to stop Mr Brighton’s involvement with these facilities while this court case was underway – in fact, the Department of Primary Industries continued to approve Mr Brighton’s petting zoos to obtain more animals.”
“That is why I am relieved that Mr Brighton will be subject to an automatic, lifetime ban from working with animals as a result of this conviction, pursuant to new laws recently introduced by the Animal Justice Party”
In 2019, Mr Brighton was given the longest custodial sentence on record for a RSPCA NSW prosecution, but had his conviction overturned on appeal. The Court of Appeal ultimately ordered that the case be re-tried in the Local Court, which finally concluded in February with a guilty verdict followed by today’s sentencing.
“The fact that someone who was being charged with violent acts of cruelty was legally allowed to continue to work with animals highlights how flawed our animal protection system is. This is something that needs to change urgently.
“While justice has been served today, it appears that Daniel Brighton is appealing this decision as he has done in the past. I will continue to monitor this case closely.”
