A Tasmanian man who bludgeoned six penguins to death has had his sentence more than doubled after a successful appeal by prosecutors.

Joshua Leigh Jeffrey was convicted in July of beating the penguins with a stick at Sulphur Creek in Tasmania’s north-west in 2016.

Jeffrey was ordered to undertake 49 hours of community service, but the sentence was appealed against by the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, which argued it was “manifestly inadequate”.

The sentence also drew outrage from community members and wildlife campaigners, who said it would not act as a deterrent.

Justice Stephen Estcourt today cast that sentence aside and doubled the community service order to 98 hours.

Justice Estcourt also sentenced Jeffrey to two months in prison, suspended on the condition that he commit no offences punishable by imprisonment in 12 months.

-ABC