Bunny killer fights jail term

A BALLARAT teenager who strangled a pet rabbit in front of at least 11 terrified witnesses in broad daylight was yesterday sentenced to a year in jail, after a magistrate rejected his claim he had performed a mercy killing.But father-of-one Tai Sharp, 18, walked free from Ballarat Magistrates Court on bail after lodging an appeal against the severity of the sentence.The court heard that at the Little Bridge Street bus stop on the afternoon of November 3 last year, Sharp took the rabbit from a teenage female friend, stomped on its head, wrung its neck and pelted it twice against the bus stop window, before shouting, “I can kill the f***ing rabbit” and “how do you like that, I can do it again” and throwing the dead pet to the ground.Police prosecutor Sergeant Bob Anderson said at least three children – the youngest six years old – witnessed the killing. Sharp pleaded guilty to charges of public nuisance, dishonestly undertaking in the retention of stolen goods and theft.Sergeant Anderson called on magistrate Michelle Hodgson to jail him, a suggestion that drew gasps from Sharp’s many supporters seated in the body of the court.“Your honour, this is a despicable act, it takes place in a busy Ballarat street on a weekday afternoon,” Sergeant Anderson said.“The court needs to send a strong message of its abhorrence of this behaviour. People cannot commit these type of offences.”In defence of Sharp, Thomas Ashton said his client committed the killing at the urging of the rabbit’s owner, who asked him to put her pet out of its misery after it had repeated seizures.He said Sharp had “cried significantly” after the attack and throughout his police interview and had suffered through an “ongoing campaign of harassment” due to media reports of the killing.“He has been vilified as a ‘bunny killer’ in the pages of The Courier, there is a good deal of hostility towards him and his family,” Mr Ashton said.Mr Ashton argued that Sharp’s youth, his recent employment and recent fatherhood augured well for his rehabilitative prospects and called on Ms Hodgson to avoid imposing a prison term.The magistrate, however, dismissed the submission, describing Sharp’s actions as “truly horrible” and sentencing him to 12 months in a youth detention centre on his public nuisance charge.Sharp was also given two months for his two other charges, to be served concurrently.When it came time to hear his judgement, Sharp did not show the same steely resolve he appeared to exhibit when he wrung the rabbit’s neck.The teenager burst into loud sobs as Ms Hodgson delivered the sentence.He has been released on bail pending an appeal, which will be heard in the County Court on a date to be fixed.The Courier is unable to allow comments on this story for legal reasons, with the case still pending.