Man who assaulted wife with ostrich egg because her pet pig damaged his tools jailed for six months

A New Zealand man who threw an ostrich egg at his wife because her pet pig damaged his tools has been sent to jail. Phillip Marau Glanville Russell, 47, lost his temper when he discovered the pig had caused $2500 of damage to his saw.

Russell was sentenced to six months' jail when he appeared in Hastings District Court yesterday, after earlier pleading guilty to charges including assault using an ostrich egg as a weapon.



He picked an argument with his wife of 20 years when she came home to their rural Waipawa property with their 9-year-old child in early July. He swore at her before spitting at her four or five times. He then grabbed a large ostrich egg from the kitchen table and threw it at her with force. The heavy egg hit her in the chest, causing bruising.

His lawyer, Antony Willis, said Russell had asked his wife repeatedly to keep the pig under control because it had damaged their house, their neighbour's house and council property. But his wife insisted it should be given free range. The offending occurred while Russell was subject to a sentence of supervision. He has been in custody since appearing in court on July 10.