‘May his soul rest in peace’: Sick post after pigeon attacked with golf club by trio of Western Australian men

WARNING: Distressing content A trio of men have been fined for their roles in the “despicable” bashing of a pigeon with a golf club, with a court being told a vile video of the ordeal was published online. The sick clip which became the subject of an RSPCA WA investigation depicts one man, 25, hitting the bird with the club, launching it more than a metre through the air. A screenshot from further in the video shows the attacker mid-swing as he brings the golf club down on the defenceless bird as it flaps its wings. The 25-year-old hit the bird four times, with its feathers falling out with each subsequent hit. After the assault, the pigeon was picked up, still alive, and tossed into a nearby skip bin. The 25-year-old was fined $48,000 for his role, while the two other offenders – both 30-year-old men, were fined $39,000 for their part in producing the video. The trio were all working on a gold mining project in Western Australia at the time of the 2023 offence. The video, posted to one of the offender’s Snapchat stories, was captioned “May his soul rest in peace” followed by a crying laughing emoji. The pigeon was alive throughout the sinister attack, and the men could be heard laughing throughout the video. The men were sentenced on Monday in the Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court where magistrate William Yoo labelled the attacker’s “abominable” conduct as a “disgusting and despicable thing to do”. He said the act “was absolutely disgusting, vile and reprehensible,” and the “innocent and vulnerable” pigeon’s distress was evident throughout the assault. Mr Yoo described the men as having “egged each other on” and betraying their “own humanity”. RSPCA WA inspector manager Kylie Green said the behaviour of the men in the video was disgusting. “There is never an excuse to torment or abuse an animal,” she said. “The fines handed down today are profoundly significant and it is hoped the message is loud and clear to those who think that cruelty towards animals is OK.”