Gregory Martin: said he had the right to kill his mare because "the Bible says man has dominion over animals".
An American recently settled on his ancestral farm in Mayo hacked a horse to death with an axe because a neighbour complained it had been eating too much grass, a court was told last night. Greg Martin of Bofield, Bonninconlon, Ballina, who has been living with his cousin for 18 months, said he had the right to kill the mare because "the Bible says man has dominion over animals". Photographs of the sawn-up carcass of the seven-year-old mare after it had been killed were shown to Judge Mary Devins in Ballina District Court.
Martin, who is in his thirties, pleaded not guilty of cruelty to the mare under the Protection of Animals Act 1911. He conducted his own defence after telling the judge he was psychologically fit to plead in the case.
After hearing the evidence, Judge Devins convicted him and sentenced him to three months in prison and fined him £500 for what she described as "absolute, wanton cruelty".
Garda Des McCann said that when he visited the defendant's home on October 10th he saw what looked like a pile of concrete at the hayshed near his house. While speaking to Martin he looked over at the hayshed and asked: "What is that?" The defendant then put his two hands up and said: "All right, all right. I did it. I killed my mare."
Garda McCann said when he asked the defendant how he killed the horse he replied it was with an axe and then showed him the implement. The mare had been bound front and back feet and lashed to one of the uprights of the hayshed. There was a deep gash on the neck of the mare which contained a well of blood. The Garda said when he asked the defendant why he had killed the animal, he replied that a neighbour had told him it was eating too much grass. The mare belonged to him and he believed he had a right to kill. Martin told the Garda he had worked in an abattoir and was competent to cut the animal up.
Garda McCann said he arrested Martin under the Mental Treatment Act and brought him to Ballina.
He was later brought under Garda escort to Castlebar. The defendant had signed himself in to the hospital voluntarily but left in his pyjamas the next morning and got a taxi to his home.
When Martin told Judge Devins he wanted to represent himself in the case, the judge said she had to be satisfied he was fit to plead. He said he did not want to be part of any psychological assessment process as he felt it put a label on people. He felt himself to be a victim of circumstance.
He said he had no intention of cruelly treating the mare, which had a five-month-old foal. He had originally planned to eventually release the animal into the wild, somewhere like the Killarney National Park. Martin said he had bought the animal intending to get into the coach driving business. The reason he had decided to kill the animal was because a neighbouring farmer would not let him use his field. There was no grass. Asked by Judge Devins why he killed the mare in the way he did, Martin replied that he hit her on the head with an axe in the "most humane, efficient and practical" way to kill her. He felt under pressure from his neighbour whose wife had told him the animal was eating too much grass.
"I do not consider I was cruel," Martin added. "In the Bible, man is given dominion over animals. God gives me the right to cull an animal if I have to. Garda McCann is no judge. God is judge and God says I did nothing wrong."
After hearing the evidence, Judge Devins commented: "The mare was obviously completely and utterly terrified." After sentencing Martin she directed he receive appropriate medical attention.
The judge granted an application by Garda Insp Michael Donovan that the foal and any other animals owned by Martin be removed from the farm and taken into care.