Protesters outside the court for Nathan Thompson's sentencing. Credit:Darren Pateman Thompson had already been banned from having anything to do with animals for the rest of his life. The hearing was moved from East Maitland District Court to the more secure Newcastle Local Court because of widespread public outrage. Magistrate Robert Stone said on Monday the community saw the puppy deaths as "deplorable and distressing". Speaking outside court, RSPCA NSW chief inspector David O'Shannessy said the organisation was "satisfied" with the result and thanked the public for its help in investigating the matter.

Sole survivor: The puppy has been named Lucky. Credit:Peter Stoop He said the sentence sent a clear message. "These sort of attacks of brutal, deliberate and premeditated animal cruelty will not be tolerated by the courts and also the public," Mr O'Shannessy said. Tony Brown gave the dogs to Thompson but insists he didn't want them to be killed. Credit:Peter Stoop While the public reaction had been strong, Mr O'Shannessy said Hunter staff were hit hard by the case.

"Those staff involved with the assessment of the animals and the treatment of the surviving animals, there's no doubt that has taken a toll," he said. One of the dogs that was bashed to death. RSPCA Hunter veterinary manager Simone Cooper was tearful after the sentence, saying scientific impartiality in the case was virtually impossible. "It was definitely one of the worse things I've seen in my career," she said. "We are supposed to be professionals and [have] seen it all before, but it's just not true ... I know a lot of my team had a little bit of a difficult time."

Thompson was supported by mother and partner. A court exclusion zone was set up for the public because of protesters. The 11 pups were advertised for sale on the classifieds website Gumtree on March 5. When they had not sold by March 11, the owner took the animals to Thompson at his home because he had sold puppies in the past, court documents stated. Thompson put the puppies in the back seat of his car about 4.45pm and drove to McLeod Road at Kurri Kurri.

He drove some way down a dirt track and found a brick in nearby scrub. He removed the first puppy from the rear of his vehicle and struck it on the head with the brick. The puppy died from its injuries and Thompson threw it into the bush, before repeating the process on four others. As Thompson continued to bludgeon the puppies, a witness walking his own dogs heard a number of them yelping. "[The witness] has observed the accused holding one of the puppies down with his left hand while repeatedly bludgeoning it with a brick held in his right hand," the court documents stated.

"[The witness] momentarily watched in horror as the accused removed yet another puppy from his car and proceeded to strike the animal four times in the head. "At this point [the witness] has run towards the accused, trying to coax his own dogs away from the massacre." Once Thompson noticed the witness, he threw the puppy into the bush and drove off at high speed, court documents stated. He took off with five of the puppies still alive and later told police he killed four of them in bushland off Northcote Street at Kurri Kurri. Lucky was bashed but survived and the remaining living puppy was given away to a family at Cessnock.