Phil Gregory Tripp, former publisher of Urban Animal magazine, has beensentenced for the killing of a cat in July.

Tripp received a nine-month intensive corrections order, was ordered tocomplete 100 hours of community service, and will lose custody of hiscompanion parrot of 23 years after pleading guilty to animal cruelty, reportedthe ABC.

He received the maximum discount on his sentence as he entered a guilty pleato the charge at the earliest opportunity.

The 70-year-old Coffs Harbour resident was charged in July after he caught anddrowned a domestic ginger cat in a garbage bin, and uploaded images of theincident to social media.

Hugo Schleiger, Tripp’s lawyer, said his client was deeply remorseful for hisactions and had intended to trap and kill feral cats, which were threateningnative wildlife on his property, however prosecutor Heidi Warren said givenTripp’s background he should have known the cat was not feral.

“One would expect an animal lover, or someone who is across animalconservation, would know the difference between a feral and a domestic cat.”

Magistrate Ian Rodgers described the crime as “horrific” and “abhorrent” butconsidered his prior good character and remorse and elected to not sentencethe maximum penalty of five years’ jail.

Image sourced from Facebook.

Tagged: Animal Cruelty, Phil Tripp

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