Brisbane man who bit head off live rat says 'it wasn't that bad'

A Brisbane electrician who bit the head off a live rat and posted the video online said he did not think his actions were "that bad", after being sentenced to community service. 

Matthew Clement Maloney, 25, appeared in the Brisbane Magistrates Court today and pleaded guilty to inflicting unnecessary pain on a domestic rat at Albion in January.

"I am remorseful, like I wish it never happened and all that stuff," he said outside court.

"I don't think it was that bad, there's a lot worse you could've done – buy rat poison and all that stuff, rat traps."

Magistrate Suzette Coates ordered him to complete 100 hours of community service and pay court costs of $90, and banned him from owning a pet for three years.

She recorded a conviction and described his behaviour as "rabid, narcissistic (and) attention-seeking".

Maloney said he agreed with the court's decision but did not understand how the RSPCA could have proven the animal's death was painful.

"Who said it was in a lot of pain? I don't know how they could've proven that when they test on rats all the time," he said.

RSPCA senior inspector Georgia Sakrzewski said it was hard to say whether Maloney was genuinely sorry.

"I think he gave little thought to the possibility that it was actually going to be an incredibly painful way for the rat involved to die," she said.

Maloney was charged after he posted a video of the incident to his Facebook page on January 16. The clip showed him grabbing a live white rat, biting its head off and then swallowing it.

Later, a post on the page said those who took offence to the clip were "a bunch of sissies" who needed to "accept the food chain".

In court, lawyer Nick Dore said Maloney's offending followed a melanoma diagnosis.

The maximum charge for the offence is three years in jail.