A Canberra landscaper has narrowly avoided immediate imprisonment after deliberately using his four-wheel-drive to hit and kill two kangaroos, filming the acts for his own gratification.
'Cowardly' acts captured on video
Andrew Kevin James Skidmore, 24, faced the ACT Magistrates Court on Friday, January 9, 2026, where he was sentenced for what magistrate Amy Begley described as "an extraordinary and intentional act of cruelty". The court heard that on two separate occasions in April 2024, Skidmore filmed himself while driving his bull bar-fitted vehicle on the Kings Highway in Kowen.
In one video played to the court, Skidmore was heard saying "woo" after deliberately veering onto the left shoulder of the road to strike and kill an eastern grey kangaroo. Another video showed him crossing to the incorrect side of the road to collide with a second kangaroo. Magistrate Begley labelled his decision to record the incidents as "sheer acts of stupidity".
Suspended sentence and community service
Magistrate Begley handed Skidmore a one-year-and-two-month jail sentence, wholly suspended upon entering a good behaviour order. This means he will serve his sentence in the community, not behind bars. She warned Skidmore he had come "very close" to being incarcerated.
In addition to the suspended term, Skidmore was fined $3000, disqualified from driving for one year, and ordered to complete 250 hours of community service. He had pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated cruelty to an animal causing death, dangerous driving, and using a mobile phone while driving.
Self-represented defendant offers unusual defence
Despite the court adjourning his sentencing in September 2025 to allow him to obtain legal representation, Skidmore represented himself at the final hearing. In his defence, he told the court that while he understood his actions were "wrong and it is illegal", he pointed to government kangaroo culls, stating they kill more than a million animals annually.
"I grew up hunting," Skidmore said. "I understand those two videos were definitely not the right way." He also told the court he was now "definitely a man of god" who reads the bible daily.
A prosecutor argued Skidmore had made "a positive decision to kill the animals by running over them" and that he "derived some sort of satisfaction if not enjoyment from the act". She noted the premeditation involved in having his phone ready to film and stated there was no evidence to confirm whether the kangaroos died on impact or suffered afterwards.
The prosecutor also submitted that Skidmore had sought to minimise his actions, having previously told a report author he was unaware killing kangaroos was illegal at the time of the offences.
