Man fined $4000 and banned from owning a goat for two years after he tried to castrate 3.5-month-old Franklin

A man has been fined $4000 and banned from owning a goat for two years after he tried to castrate his three-and-a-half-month-old goat with a cable tie and dehorned him with a saw. WARNING: SOME READERS MAY FIND THE DETAILS OF THIS STORY DISTRESSING The shocking details surrounding Franklin the goat and the injuries he suffered at the hands of the 45-year-old Cloverdale man were revealed in the Perth Magistrates Court on June 21. The court heard how an RSPCA WA inspector attended the man’s property in January to conduct a welfare check on Franklin after receiving a cruelty report. “She observed Franklin’s scrotum had a black cable tie around it, and his horns appeared to have recently been cut very short,” the RSPCA said in a statement. “The offender told the inspector he had placed the cable tie around the goat’s scrotum to castrate him after finding the method online. He said he did not consult a veterinarian. Franklin’s testicles appeared white in colour and were swollen and cold to the touch. There was pus-type discharge around the cable tie and dried blood and fluid down his leg.” The RSPCA said the man also told the inspector he had dehorned Franklin by using a saw. He said he made a paste of aspirin and rubbed it on his horns for the pain. The inspector seized Franklin and transported him to the animal care centre in Malaga where he underwent emergency surgery. Vets quickly confirmed that the right side of his face and his scrotum — which had to be removed — were infected. RSPCA WA Inspector Manager Kylie Green said the man’s treatment of Franklin was completely irresponsible and cruel. “It is heartbreaking to think of Franklin suffering in immense pain for several days – I cannot understand how the offender thought this was an acceptable way to treat a goat,” she said. “Thankfully a member of the community made a cruelty report about this situation otherwise the outcome for Franklin could have been a lot more dire.” The man was charged under the Animal Welfare Act 2002. He was ordered to pay more than $3000 in legal and care costs to the RSPCA and forfeit Franklin.