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Australian teenagers charged over alleged swan abuse with e-cigarette
🇬🇷 Greece /Crime & Justice

Australian teenagers charged over alleged swan abuse with e-cigarette

From Ta Nea · () Greek

Translated from Greek, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • Two teenagers in Western Australia face animal cruelty charges for allegedly forcing a black swan to inhale vapor from an e-cigarette.
  • The incident, captured on video and posted online, occurred on July 26 near Mandurah.
  • A court heard the swan was initially brought onto a boat to have a fishing hook removed from its neck before the alleged abuse took place.

A judge has described the alleged abuse of a black swan by two teenagers in Western Australia as an "extremely serious and terrible offense." The teenagers face charges of causing unnecessary harm to an animal after an incident on July 26 near Mandurah.

The court heard that the two youths initially found the swan with a fishing hook lodged in its neck and brought it onto their inflatable boat to remove it. However, according to court documents, one of the teenagers then allegedly forced the swan to inhale vapor from an e-cigarette before the other allegedly struck the bird. They then released it back into the water.

One of the teenagers has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing in September. His lawyer stated the behavior was "completely out of character" for him, as he lives on a farm. The other teenager has not yet entered a plea, and his case has been adjourned for eight weeks while he seeks legal aid. The judge ordered psychological assessments for both youths and prohibited them from contacting each other while releasing them on conditional bail.

I wish the swan had not suffered this treatment. You participated in an extremely serious and terrible offense.

— JudgeThe judge's remarks to the two teenagers during the court hearing.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Ta Nea in Greek. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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