Melbourne:
A 25-year-old Australian man who filmed himself chewing off a live rat's head and posted the video on Facebook was banned today from owning pets for three years and given 100 hours of community service for his "rabid, narcissistic" behaviour.
Matthew Maloney, who hails from Albion in Brisbane and is known as "Mad Matt", was pleaded guilty to one count of animal cruelty in Brisbane Magistrates Court.
Maloney's bizarre stunt of pulling the pet rat from a box, biting off its head and taking a swig of vodka was viewed hundreds of thousands of times and had triggered widespread outrage when it was posted online in January.
Terming the act as "narcissistic", Magistrate Suzette Coates said the behaviour was not excusable and that people who watched the video could think he was "nothing but a silly idiot".
"There's nothing that indicates that the behaviour is manly. There's nothing that indicates that it is admirable," Coates said.
"It indicates that it's rabid, narcissistic," attention-seeking behaviour on your behalf. Well you've got the attention and it's probably attention you wish you didn't get now," Coates was quoted as saying by the 'Brisbane Times'.
The judge ordered Maloney to complete 100 hours of community service and banned him from owning a pet for three years, besides paying 89 Australian dollars in court costs.
Maloney, who was charged after a raid by Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) investigators, said he agreed with the court's decision even though his actions "weren't that bad".
"I agree with the court's decision but I just think, I don't think it was that bad," he said.
Maloney rejected suggestions the rat had suffered. "[The RSPCA] said it was in 29 seconds of pain. I don't know how they could have proven that when they test on rats all the time," he said.
He defended the killing on his page, saying, "This is for all the butt hurt people out there having a cry about what i did!"
"That rat in the video was a feeder rat and was always going to die," Maloney said.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Matthew Maloney, who hails from Albion in Brisbane and is known as "Mad Matt", was pleaded guilty to one count of animal cruelty in Brisbane Magistrates Court.
Maloney's bizarre stunt of pulling the pet rat from a box, biting off its head and taking a swig of vodka was viewed hundreds of thousands of times and had triggered widespread outrage when it was posted online in January.
Terming the act as "narcissistic", Magistrate Suzette Coates said the behaviour was not excusable and that people who watched the video could think he was "nothing but a silly idiot".
"There's nothing that indicates that the behaviour is manly. There's nothing that indicates that it is admirable," Coates said.
"It indicates that it's rabid, narcissistic," attention-seeking behaviour on your behalf. Well you've got the attention and it's probably attention you wish you didn't get now," Coates was quoted as saying by the 'Brisbane Times'.
The judge ordered Maloney to complete 100 hours of community service and banned him from owning a pet for three years, besides paying 89 Australian dollars in court costs.
Maloney, who was charged after a raid by Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) investigators, said he agreed with the court's decision even though his actions "weren't that bad".
"I agree with the court's decision but I just think, I don't think it was that bad," he said.
Maloney rejected suggestions the rat had suffered. "[The RSPCA] said it was in 29 seconds of pain. I don't know how they could have proven that when they test on rats all the time," he said.
He defended the killing on his page, saying, "This is for all the butt hurt people out there having a cry about what i did!"
"That rat in the video was a feeder rat and was always going to die," Maloney said.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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