Video online of seagull caught by fishing rod

A 21-YEAR-OLD man caught a seagull with a fishing hook on the Midway Point causeway then laughed as his mates filmed the “tortured” creature trying to fly with line attached to its leg, a court has heard. Connor Joseph Churchill pleaded guilty to two animal cruelty charges, including one of aggravated cruelty likely to result in death, deformity or serious disablement. But in an 11th-hour plea change in Hobart Magistrates Court yesterday, he pleaded not guilty to a second aggravated cruelty charge, claiming he did not intend to bait the bird. Prosecutor Simon Nicholson alleged Mr Churchill and three friends were fishing off the causeway in April last year when the-then 19-year-old deliberately baited his line and placed the hook on the road, waiting for a bird to swallow it. A silver gull took the bait, the hook damaging its gastrointestinal tract. Mr Churchill then reeled the bird in before he “forcefully restrained” it by the neck and asked a friend to wrap fishing line on its leg, Mr Nicholson said. One of the group suggested tying line through the bird’s nostrils, but another refused, saying “that is f … ed,” Mr Nicholson continued. Mr Churchill then let the bird fly away about 50m with its leg wrapped in fishing line before it fell and hit the water. Another friend filmed it and posted the video to Snapchat, which was seen by about 30 people, before it was shared on Facebook. The video, screened in court, shows the youths laughing as the gull tries to fly. Mr Nicholson said Mr Churchill later told a wildlife ranger he knew the episode “wasn’t right, but it seemed all right at the time”. He admitted it “wouldn’t have been nice for the gull”. Mr Churchill was arrested last month after failing to show for an October court date. He initially pleaded guilty to all three charges, but changed his plea to the second aggravated cruelty charge, saying he had accidentally caught the bird. Mr Churchill said via his lawyer that he had an acquired brain injury following a motor vehicle accident in 2017. Magistrate Reg Marron said he was “minded” to give Mr Churchill a chance to get a neuropsychological report and change his plea. He said penalties for aggravated cruelty could be up to 60 months’ jail or up to $23,000 in fines. Mr Marron adjourned the matter until March 13.