Three teenagers charged with killing Cairns hotel's pet barramundi
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Version 0 of 1. Three teenagers have been charged after allegedly using a speargun to shoot two pet barramundi in the pond of a Cairns hotel , police say. The 18-year-olds were returning empty-handed from a failed fishing expedition when they entered the Hilton Double Tree resort and shot the one-metre fish last Wednesday. Police allege the trio then took the dead animals to a nearby car wash to gut and fillet their catch. McSuds Car Spa manager Ian Murray said his business was littered with scales the next morning. “It looked like it had been snowing,” he said. “I’ve been fishing for years and knew they were from barramundi straight away, only they have scales that big.” The car wash is frequently used by anglers to clean their fish. The three men were arrested by police when they returned to the hotel the next day to take photos of an albino fish living in the same pool. The barramundi are considered a tourist attraction, with many visiting to catch a glimpse of the domesticated fish, a police spokesman said. The men will appear in Cairns magistrates court on 21 August charged with trespassing and unlawfully killing an animal. |