A chicken named Betty White is dead after reportedly being thrown into an alligator enclosure by an Australian park guest.
On Tuesday, Sept. 24, Peter Smith, who is in his 50s, pleaded guilty in an Australian court to aggravated animal cruelty, the Australian Associated Press reported, per people.com.
The chicken toss happened in January at the Oakvale Farm and Fauna World at Salt Ash in New South Wales.
The Australian Associated Press reported Smith reached over rocks at Betty White’s sanctuary and hid the white Chinese silkie bantam chicken in his shirt.
Smith then went to the alligator enclosure and threw the bird in where it was killed.
Days later, Smith went to the police and confessed.
He said he was “really disappointed” in his behavior.
Smith’s defense lawyer, Bryan Wrench, said his client “just wanted to feed an alligator” who was hungry.
On Tuesday, Magistrate Kirralee Perry told Wrench, “These are serious allegations.”
Smith faces a maximum penalty for aggravated animal cruelty and could face two years in jail and a $24,084 fine.
“This is the first time in our 43 years that we have had a member of the public (allegedly) engage in such cruelty in what is an animal sanctuary,” Oakvale Farm owner Kent Sansom said in a statement.
“Betty White was hand-raised at the park and had played a crucial role in our endangered species breeding program for the bush stone curlew and other species by providing surrogacy to the chicks.”