Inverell Local Court: Inverell's Axle Robinson, 20, denied bail pending severity appeal after being imprisoned for aggravated animal cruelty

Axle Robinson, 20, appeared before Inverell Local Court on Thursday via audio visual link from custody, seeking to be released on bail until his appeal was heard in Armidale later this month. Bail was denied.

On March 3, the Inverell man was sentenced by Magistrate Roger Prowse to the eight-month full-time prison sentence for one charge of aggravated animal cruelty.

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Robinson plead guilty in January to killing the animal, which belonged to a family member, on September 13, 2021.

Police documents tendered to court explained that Robinson confessed to the killing, telling police he was "p***ed off" when he came home from work to find the animal had defecated on the carpet of the rental property.

He grabbed the kitten with both hands and snapped its neck, killing it instantly, before placing it in a plastic bag and discarding it in a bin, the court was told.

He originally entered a plea of not guilty in November to three charges, which included torture, beat and cause death of an animal; and two counts of committing an act of cruelty.

However the Crown prosecution withdrew the two other charges when he plead guilty to the single cruelty charge.

Represented by his solicitor, Stephen Collins, on Thursday, it was submitted that Robinson would be no risk to the community if he was released from prison until his appeal.

Mr Collins said that his client had full-time employment in Inverell, had no prior criminal history, no record of failing to appear, with his sentencing assessment report indicating that his likelihood of reoffending was "very low".

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Robinson's release was opposed by the prosecution, with Sergeant Mareika Wilkins submitting that the chances he would be sentenced to anything other than full time custody were almost zero.

"In the scope of context, there is a strong likelihood that the sentence would still be a period of incarceration," she told the court.

Magistrate Holly Kemp agreed, saying the punishment had to reflect the seriousness of the act.

"This was an alarming act of violence, of cruelty, on a defenseless animal," she stated.

She said there needed to be a message sent, not only to him but the wider community, that these acts would not be tolerated.

"It's not about the length of the sentence but the force of the appropriate penalty," she continued.

Robinson's severity appeal will be heard at Armidale District Court on March 28.

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