Teen sentenced for forcing black swan to inhale vape fumes

During a hearing in the Rockingham children’s court, a 16-year-old pleaded guilty to two charges of causing unnecessary harm to an animal after he and a friend encountered a black swan near Endeavour Island. The boys brought the swan onto their inflatable boat, removed a fishing lure from its neck, and the teen forced vape smoke into the bird’s beak while the other boy slapped it. The swan later lay unresponsive and was discovered dead in nearby bushland.

Magistrate Andrée Horrigan called the conduct a "graphic, awful error in judgement" and sentenced the teen to a four-month community-based order, urging him to reflect on his actions. The boy’s lawyer highlighted his client’s obsession with Snapchat streaks as a motive. The co-accused, who allegedly slapped the swan, is scheduled to appear in the Mandurah Children’s Court later.