A 73-year-old Tuncurry woman will appear in Forster Local Court later this month after being charged with multiple animal cruelty offences.
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Manning-Great Lakes Police District officers have been investigating the alleged acts since 2018.
However, she was caught in the act and reported to police in late April
According to police, members of the public witnessed the women feeding fish to a pelican at the Point Road, Tuncurry boat ramp on April 27, before she grabbed the bird and put it into the boot of her vehicle.
The bird's wing was seen protruding from the closed boot of the car.
Police attended the scene and stopped the vehicle.
The woman released the injured pelican as police approached the car.
She was spoken to by officers before they conducted further inquiries.
Last Friday morning, May 3 police conducted a search of the woman's Tuncurry home, seizing a number of items relating to the alleged cruelty to animals.
Police also located a caged magpie with its beak removed.
The bird was taken to a vet where it was euthanised due to its injuries.
Mobile phones seized from the house depicted images and videos of animals, including a dog and rabbit, that had allegedly been mutilated in a public location.
Police will allege in court that the woman attends public places in both Forster and Tuncurry and gains the trust of animals by feeding them, before taking them home and torturing them over an extended period of time.
She then attends a veterinary clinic, claiming to have found the injured animals and needing them to be euthanised.
The woman was arrested and taken to Forster Police Station on Saturday, May 4 and charged with:
- Commit an act of aggravated cruelty on an animal;
- Authorise carriage etc of animal which unjustifiably inflicts pain;
- Being in charge of an animal and fail to provide vet treatment (x3);
- Commit an act of cruelty on an animal (x2);
- Deal in animals (Biodiversity Conservation Act); and
- Contravene licence (Biodiversity Conservation Act).
The woman was given strict conditional bail to appear at Forster Local Court on Wednesday, May 22.
Investigations into the alleged cruelty are continuing.
Anyone with information is urged to contact police or Crime Stoppers or phone 1800 333 000.
Information will be treated in strict confidence.
The public is reminded not to report crime via NSW Police social media pages.
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