UK tourist charged after allegedly drowning, bashing pet dog
A UK citizen on a working holiday visa has been taken into custody after allegedly drowning and beating a pet dog to death.
Bradley Gavin Knoesen, a 31-year-old British tourist on a working holiday visa in Australia, has been refused bail after allegedly drowning and beating a pet dog to death in Western Australia's Goldfields region. Police allege that Knoesen, who had consumed a large amount of alcohol at a Kalgoorlie bar on September 23, picked up the one-year-old kelpie named Faith and repeatedly submerged it underwater.
The dog managed to swim away before Knoesen pulled it back underwater, leaving it unresponsive. A witness revived the dog with CPR, but Knoesen reportedly declared it "brain dead" and then beat it with a glass bottle, tying the dog's body to a motorbike and dragging it through nearby bushland. The court heard that Knoesen is in Australia on a six-month working holiday visa from the United Kingdom, and prosecutors opposed his bail release due to fears of him fleeing the country.
The Magistrate who heard the case cited the gravity of the charges as her reason for denying bail. The RSPCA has been notified of the incident and will cooperate with the police investigation.
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