Australian Man Pleads Guilty to Feeding Beloved ‘Betty White’ Chicken to Gator

A 58-year-old man from New South Wales, Australia, named Peter Smith has pleaded guilty to aggravated animal cruelty after he tossed a beloved chicken named Betty White into an alligator pen at Oakvale Wildlife Park.

The unhinged and bizarre incident occurred earlier this year, on January 2, 2024. Witnesses allege that Smith removed Betty White (the chicken) from its enclosure and essentially fed it to the hungry gator. 

Smith’s attorney, Brian Wrench, tried to downplay it. Smith, a grandfather with no criminal record, didn’t understand the gravity of his actions. The Guardian said Smith argued the man “had simply fed a chicken to a hungry alligator in a wildlife park.” At one point, they said, he pointed out that, hey, 750 million chickens are killed every year, why make a fuss about one? Presumably, the jury booed and threw tomatoes at him. Or at least one would hope they did.

Oakvale Wildlife Park’s CEO, Leanne Sansom, lamented the loss of Betty White and described the whole fiasco as distressing for the animal caretakers who had to witness the first act of cruelty committed by a visitor in the park’s 43-year history. Sansom says that Betty White wasn’t just an ordinary chicken to be displayed in a zoo. Betty White was raised in the park and played a big role in the park’s endangered species program by being a surrogate parent to many of the chickens born on the premises.

The case was adjourned after the judge heard both sides of the argument. Smith will be sentenced on November 20. The maximum penalty for aggravated animal cruelty is two years’ imprisonment and a fine of $24,084.