A 31-year-old British national working as a fly-in-fly-out underground truck driver in Australia has avoided an immediate term of imprisonment after admitting to torturing a one-year-old dog and bludgeoning her to death with a glass bottle.
Bradley Gavin Knoesen appeared in the dock at Kalgoorlie Magistrate’s Court in Western Australia, having entered a formal guilty plea to causing unnecessary harm to an animal.
The court heard that the horrific incident occurred on 23 September on the outskirts of the gold-mining city of Kalgoorlie. Prosecutors outlined that Knoesen had consumed an extreme volume of alcohol before targeting a one-year-old Kelpie named Faith—a traditional Australian working breed known for loyalty and high activity.
Knoesen repeatedly forced the young dog’s head underwater, drowning her until she lost consciousness. When the animal revived, Knoesen continued the violence by arming himself with a glass bottle, using it as a weapon to repeatedly strike and bludgeon the animal to death.
During the attack, Knoesen repeatedly urged his cousin to participate in the violence. Instead, his cousin wept uncontrollably and pleaded with Knoesen to stop the attack. After killing the dog, Knoesen tied her corpse to the back of his motorbike and dragged her through the bushland. Police prosecutors stated that Knoesen carried out the act with the express intention of making the owner see what had happened to his pet.
Police prosecutor Amy Southall pushed strongly for an immediate custodial sentence, firmly rejecting defence claims that Knoesen was an animal lover who acted out of character, branding the violence “gratuitous and unnecessary.”
In her sentencing remarks, Magistrate Donna Webb characterised the death of the dog as a protracted act of extreme cruelty, stating that the facts presented to the court amounted to torture “beyond comprehension.” The magistrate remarked that severe intoxication provided zero excuse for such calculated violence, noting that Knoesen appeared wholly determined to end the dog’s life.
However, citing binding Supreme Court precedents regarding sentencing thresholds in animal cruelty cases, Magistrate Webb declined to impose an immediate term behind bars.
Knoesen, who had been detained in custody on remand since his arrest on 23 September, was handed a 12-month prison term suspended for 12 months.
Defence counsel confirmed to the court that following the conclusion of criminal proceedings, Knoesen is expected to be formally deported from Australia back to the United Kingdom by immigration authorities.
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