The gardener caught on camera whipper-snippering a native Australian bird to death was seriously injured in a car crash months later, Daily Mail Australia can reveal.
The shocking footage, which emerged earlier this week, shows an employee of Elly’s Property Services shred a plover with the whipper snipper before stomping on its head and dumping it in a bin.
The whistleblower who shared the disturbing video of the savage act in Thornton, near Newcastle, died on Thursday after a five-year battle with cancer.
The whistleblower, whose friends have requested not be named, released the video as his condition was deteriorating on March 31.
Elly’s Property Services founder Ian Elly told Daily Mail Australia he fired the employee over the killing shortly before they were seriously injured in a car accident.
He added that the former staffer ‘may never work again’.
The ex-employee has since faced a lengthy recovery in hospital after the accident, causing a court hearing into the slaughter to be adjourned until a later date, Mr Elly said.
But the ongoing delay is said to have caused the dying homeowner to share his footage on social media after he feared he would not live long enough to see the matter resolved in court, a friend told Daily Mail Australia.
The video shows the bird being caught in the path of the whipper snipper before the gardener gathers up a pile of feathers and grabbing the birds‘ eggs then throwing it all in a bin.
The clip went viral after appalled Aussies reacted angrily to the footage.
In the wake of the outrage, Mr Elly claims he was targeted by online trolls who wrongly accused him of being the culprit.
The hate messages and threats of violence forced Mr Elly to disconnect the company’s phone number and take down the website and social media accounts.
He also removed stickers from his ute that spruiked the company for fear of being targeted while at work.
Mr Elly and his employees provided statements to an RSPCA NSW inspector shortly after the homeowner contacted the animal welfare body.
Mr Elly said there were different version of events leading up to the incident.
The homeowner said he had been looking over the native bird for five summers as it returned to the same patch of grass to nest its eggs every year.
He said he texted the workers to warn them of the plover beforehand but Mr Elly said the text was only seen when the homeowner angrily called him about it after the bird was dead.
Mr Elly’s brother, Graham Elly, who has worked for the company for two years, insisted the footage didn’t tell the full story.
He denied he was the bird killer but said the former employee allegedly responsible ‘was going to plead guilty – what other choice does he have?’
Both men refused to comment further on the incident as ‘it’s before the courts,’ they said.
Mr Elly refused to identify the work involved as he said the issue would ‘follow (the employee) for the rest of his life’.
A RSPCA NSW spokesperson denied criminal proceedings relating to the incident were underway but said investigations were continuing.
A National Parks and Wildlife Service spokesperson described the footage as ‘shocking and extremely upsetting’.
Harming a native animal can carries a maximum fine of a $14,000.
Despite being known for being aggressive and territorial while nesting, the plover had become accustomed to seeing the homeowner and his neighbour.
‘It never attacked any of us, they’d yell but they worked us out real quick,’ a neighbour told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Not a single plover has come back to that spot yet.’
Residents on the street said their front yards are a popular spot for the species to nest and are often a hassle to get around.
Despite sometimes being considered a pest by some, local residents said they were ‘appalled’ one of the native species had been killed by the whipper snipper.
‘They were a nuisance but I wouldn’t be cruel to them,’ said one. ‘It’s a dreadful thing to do.’
After the horrific video was shared on Facebook, Mr Elly had replied in a post below it denying responsibility for the tragi incident.
‘I am the owner of this business,’ he said in the message. ‘You know for a fact this was not me in this clip, you also know we do not condone this act.
‘You also know this is being investigated by the RSPCA, national parks and wildlife and NSW courts since the incident last year in November.
‘We have assisted all through their investigations and still are if they need anything further from us.’
This article by Freddy Pawle was first published by The Daily Mail on 12 April 2024. Lead Image:
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