Twisted emu killer who shocked the world after he mowed down wild birds in his ute and posted video of his rampage online is JAILED
- Jacob Macdonald sentenced to 42 days in jail for his slaughter of 10 emus
- He laughed maniacally, counting his kills, as more and more emus died
- He said the drought was forcing emus onto local farms and they were pests
- The young man, a keen hunter, lives in Pinnaroo, a tiny town in South Australia
The man who outraged millions of Australians by filming himself running down and killing up to 10 emus in his ute has been jailed for 42 days.
Jacob Macdonald, 20, from Pinnaroo, a tiny country town in South Australia near the border with Victoria, was identified from shocking footage posted online.
He faced numerous charges including including aggravated cruelty to animals, torment to animals, and killing protected wildlife.
Jacob Macdonald, 20, has been jailed for 42 days for filming himself running down and killing up to 10 emus in his ute
The farmhand also faced several driving charges including using a mobile phone while driving and speeding.
Macdonald couldn't bear to watch the footage, averting his eyes when prosecutors played it in court on Thursday.
Magistrate Michael King slammed his callous crimes and dismissed his lawyer's defence that it was difficult to find work during the drought.
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'You received pleasure from inflicting pain on defenceless animals,' Mr King said before passing sentence.
The video showed Macdonald laughing maniacally as he moved down the unsuspecting wildlife on an outback road.
He can be seen panning the camera to his dashboard, appearing to show speeds of over 120km/h as the emus disappear under his bonnet.
'One, two, three!' he laughs as the birds are mowed down on the dusty road.
A mob of emus were filmed being run down by Macdonald, who was wearing a sunglasses and a cap in the footage
Online trolls calling for Macdonald to face the maximum penalty, upwards of five years in prison and a $22,000 fine.
He told Daily Mail Australia last year that though he didn't go about it the right way, he thought he was 'doing a good deed.'
'I could show you some photos of the destruction the emus make down here. We've been in drought. We're literally growing crops on about four inches of rain.'
Macdonald's ex-girlfriend confirmed the man in the footage was him after she was bombarded online
'You've got these animals coming in and making a mess,' he said. 'The reason there is so many on the road is because they're looking for something to eat. And there's nothing.'
Mr Macdonald cited a difficult period in his life, particularly over the four months before his crime, when he had a relationship breakdown with an ex-girlfriend.
However, he insisted he wasn't intending to be cruel to the native birds.
'They're just that poorly, they need to be put down,' he said.
'Here is what the RSPCA doesn't understand, they go on about cruelty, they should come out here and have a look at the state of these animals... they're not doing anything for them.'
'It's unreal the amount of damage they can cause.'
Macdonald, who works on a farm doing tractor and welding work, said the frequency of their crops being destroyed had only increased throughout the drought, as the animals sought food and water from any available source.
'It doesn't matter how good your fences are, they still get in and they wreck everything. With all of us put together we're talking half a million dollars each year just in damages to crops.'
Macdonald was identified as the driver on Thursday after a series of messages between he and an ex-girlfriend surfaced
The keen hunter went 'off the rails' after his latest relationship breakdown, according to his ex-girlfriend
The footage, which Macdonald alleged was only send to a few of his friends became a viral sensation after it was originally posted to Facebook by Fabio Galletti, who shared the clip and asked his followers to help him identify the emu killer.
As more and more people saw the footage, Macdonald begged his ex-girlfriend not to reveal his identity.
Mr Macdonald said he was apologetic for what he had done
When confronted with the truth, Mr Macdonald pleaded with her, saying 'please don't say anything.'
A friend of his also asked the woman to 'keep quiet', but promised he hadn't known of the brazen attack until the video went viral.
The keen hunter went 'off the rails' after his latest relationship breakdown, according to his ex-girlfriend.
'He's the type to go hunting, he grew up that way but this is just atrocious. I was shocked and speechless... angry mostly,' she told Daily Mail Australia.
She claimed his mother was a police officer and his father was a farmer in the NSW Riverina region.
'His parents would be outraged by his actions,' she said. 'They're genuinely good people.'
After his identity was revealed, Macdonald said he was 'very apologetic,' for his actions.
'I realise now it was the wrong thing to do. I've never put an animal through suffering before. I know what I did wrong,' he said at the time.
'I've been in contact with police and everything.'
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