A BURNT HORSE.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3433, 12 March 1920, Page 6

A BURNT HORSE.

‘ REVOLTING CRUELTY. . DR-IVER SENT TO GAOL FOR THREE MONTHS. .....--,- Allegations of revolting cruelty to 1!. horse were made againsvt. William Kennedy in the I\lagistrate’s Court, Wellington. on Tuesday. Mr l\'. A. .1. Barker, who appeared as counsel for the S.P.C.A., described the case is one of the worst of its kind, a L'.a:‘t~ so had that :he had been asked to press tkrr 2L term of imprisonment to be imposed on Kennedy. The facts were that Kennedy was driving a dray eloxvn Cl'aw.fo'l'd road. Behind it was one of the horses which had been‘ nearly x.»ul..v:t to death in the fire ini Dixon Street recently. Its right eye was bunt out, an ear was burnt almost (LT, and one shoulder had been nearly l\.r:lSl.'(‘d. The horse had a rope round its neck and was being dragged along tle ioad behind the dray which Kennedy was driving. A tramway motor-nnul 'stopped his car and got the driver of the dray to pull up. He‘

pointed out to Kennedy that he was acting in a most inhuman manner. He and others requested the dray-driver to untie the horse. The drfver jerked the rope on the horse ’s sore neck and also kicked the hor:<e.

Motorman John Dineen said tthat when he saw the horse in (_‘ru\\’ford road it was being dragged. He stopped his car and asked the driver it’ the horse was dead. The \h'i\‘(‘l' said, “No, it is only choked dowli'.~” Witness used some language to Kennedy, which was not printable, and he asked him to untie the rope. Accused jerked the horse’s sore neck with the rope and kicked it on the shoulder. The horse had bee.n dragged about 260 feet. The horse's neck was so bad that it should never have had a; rope on it. The horse had an eye] burnt out, and an ear burnt off, and was in a terrible condition. The drugging on the road caused great injury to the horse’s ribs. Witness had been a horse driver for years, and was well" experienced in horses. ‘

To Mr Neave (counsel for Kennedy): It was gross cruelty to put a rope round an open wound which had began caused by burning. The horse should not have been led; it should hove been carried in a catfle box.

R. Carpenter, the;co»nduc.tor of the tram car, said he considered that Kennedy had bol‘.-avcd cruelly and callously towards the horse. When he first saw the horse it was unc.oxlscious.

Albert VVCIIS, who lives 110111‘ the place where the incident in Crawford roéd took place, said that those present thought it a scandalous thing Thzlf the ]lol‘.~i(‘n should havo been I't~nlo\‘e-.1 from Dixon 9~‘rl'vot. It slumld .m_-Vol‘

have had a rope Tim! I'u=.md 11.4 nork. To Mr Neave: Komlo<]_v cox-I:linl_\f tugged at the horso’s neck and kn-Led it, but somthing had to be (10110 to get the animal up. The horse should have been destroyed in Dixon Sh-cot.

To -Mr Barker: He thought that had Kennedy been sober he would not have been so callous when his attention was drawn to the matter. Mr Neave said he would call evidence to show that the ease was not so bad against the defendant as had been suggested. Kennedy was em~ ployed by Mr Lamberg, a carter, and was instructed to go to Dixon street and get the horse. He was there told that the horse was fit to travel. As he came down Crawford road the horse took fright. got on to the herb and threw hirnself. The horse was then dragged for some time before Kennedy could pull up. While he was endeavouring to pull up thetram car came along. Kennedy would deny that he was slightly under the in—fluenee of liquor. EMPI.()YI*JR (‘:.l\'liH .-\(lCl.'Sl~2[) .\ V GOOD C‘HAR;\C'l‘l'lß. Frederick Lamlierg .<:1i(l that l)e‘.*‘ore sending Kennedy for the horse he satisfied hinn<elf that the horse was fit to \.\'zlll<. It would not have hurt the horse to be led lwllind :1. (ll‘a_\' in the ordinary wziy. Kennedy had worked for him for twenty-fie l('tll‘>‘. Kennedy was sober and reliable, and had never misused any of witness’.s' horses. The rope did not touch the _burn on the horse’s neck. Mr Barker: \Vhy_, the "whole of the neck was burnt!

The defendant, in his evidence, said that‘ the horse was fit to be led. \Vhen it fell he did no't drag it after he could stop the horse that was pulling the dray. He woulrl not draw -.1 horse an inch more than he could help. He did net kick the horse when if was on «the ground. He did not think he had had a. drink on the day of the occurrence. The sore from the burn was or» the lower part of the neck behind the chin. The sides of the neck were not injured. Only the hair was burnt off; the skin was 311 right.

VValtor Sargent, who saw thehox-se being led along, said the animal was fit to travel‘. Travelling was not causing him pain. \Vhen he saw ’th(~ horse being led along Adelaide mad

;-\'cl‘yth'lng '.\us going all right. He lid not know of Kellncd_\' us :1 man ‘£llo was unkind to 1101505.

Ilia‘ \V()'l'.<*l)ip szli<l cxuolty to the lwrso lnul been established. The loading of a lmrnthorse bolximl a dray Coxlstilufed cruc-lty, and the horse should have been destroyed at Dixon Street. He was unable to accept accusc-d’s explanation as to Why the horse was dl'agge<l. It was only wlmn the motorman got off his car that I{olmod_\f n1:1<.l0 an elfort to pull up. “It. seems fo me,” continued His Worship, “to be a. very bad case. I convict the a(=euso«.l and sentence him to three months‘ imprisonment.”