WARNING GRAPHIC DETAILS

A NEW South Wales man convicted over two sexual acts with a horse claims he had consent, a court heard yesterday.

Daniel Raymond Webb-Jackson, 31, pleaded not guilty to committing an act of cruelty to an animal committed when he broke into stables in Grafton on January 22, Grafton's Daily Examiner reports.

According to undisputed police facts, the stable owners had suspected some disturbances on their premises in the month earlier and installed CCTV cameras as a security measure.

Webb-Jackson was found crouching in the corner of a fourth open stable, where he was arrested after a short scuffle with police and taken to Grafton Police Station.

During police interviews he admitted to committing two sexual acts with a horse but claimed it had given consent.

In her judgment, Magistrate Karen Stafford said the basis of the animal cruelty act was to ensure humans protect the welfare and the manner of treatment of animals, and the definition of cruelty must be considered in light of the objective of the act.

Magistrate Stafford said the two sexual acts of allowing a horse to fellate Webb-Jackson and digitally penetrating the horse amounted to acts of cruelty.

According to police facts, Webb-Jackson said he went to the stables on the night in question to chill out and have oral and digital sex with a horse and masturbate.

Grafton's Daily Examiner reported Webb-Jackson had claimed because the horse winked at him, it had given him consent.

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