<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>An unremorseful business owner has been </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/prison" rel="" target="" title="jailed"><span>jailed</span></a><span> for tying a ligature around a kangaroo's neck and dragging it along a road, causing severe deformities.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Michael Anthony Holmes, 61, was sentenced at Queanbeyan Local </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/courts" rel="" target="" title="Court"><span>Court</span></a><span> today after he pleaded guilty last December to committing an act of aggravated animal cruelty.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Holmes was handcuffed and escorted into custody after receiving a 15-month jail sentence, with a non-parole period of eight months.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/i-felt-defamed-the-perth-mum-and-business-owner-cancelled-by-metas-ai/2d86f7fd-dc91-4c13-a8a4-411ac938cfac" target="_blank"><strong><span>'I felt defamed': Perth mum and business owner cancelled by Meta's AI</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Magistrate Roger Clisdell said Holmes' lack of remorse, combined with the seriousness of the offending, meant he posed too great a risk to the community.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This left him with no other option but to impose an immediate jail sentence, the court heard.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The kangaroo had to be euthanised. (Holmes) caused immense suffering to the animal," the magistrate said.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/man-jailed-for-dragging-tied-up-roo-along-country-road/6dfee43e-d850-4b52-af0a-0af3a5540215" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"That sort of behaviour is just absolutely appalling."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Tendered court documents state Holmes saw a female kangaroo lying down and struggling to get up on the fence-line of his rural property near Bywong, in the NSW Southern Tablelands region, about 7am on April 13, 2025.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Nine hours later, he returned to the scene and tied a nylon rope around the animal's neck, attaching the other end to his vehicle before dragging the roo 400 metres down the road.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Holmes detached the rope, but left a fastened ligature around the kangaroo's neck.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The animal was still alive but severely deformed when a woman discovered it and called Wildcare, an animal rescue organisation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The kangaroo suffered severe lacerations to its rib and hip area, consistent with being dragged along a road, court documents state.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/maralago-shooting-us-secret-service-shoots-man-at-donald-trumps-florida-residence/46f8705e-f4dd-4894-979f-de682908e330" target="_blank"><strong><span>Gunman shot dead at Mar-a-Lago identified as missing 21-year-old</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It died shortly after being taken by rescuers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Police were called and inspected the embankment, finding tyre marks mixed with blood and rope at the scene.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Officers went to the home on the property and spoke to Holmes, who made full admissions to the offence and showed no remorse, the court heard.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He told police he moved the animal so it "wouldn't die on his property" and attract maggots, describing kangaroos generally as "complete vermin" and "jumping rats".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"He simply thinks kangaroos have no rights ... no entitlement to treatment," Clisdell said of the offender.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The magistrate said Holmes had hours to call a rescue organisation, but instead chose cruelty against an animal he considered a "pest".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"He has made admissions, but he's not sorry about it. That gives me the very strong impression that he would do it again," Clisdell said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A photograph of the kangaroo showed the severity of the injuries, with a large portion of its fur stripped off its side.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Wildcare Queanbeyan micropod co-ordinator Natalie Patrick said the sentence was a "huge win" for animal rights.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"His custodial sentence will hopefully deter other people from committing these senseless acts of cruelty and torture against wildlife," she told AAP.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The offender will become eligible for parole in October.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>© AAP 2026</span></div></div>