Jail time reduced for man who beheaded goat

A 28-year-old Brisbane man jailed for cutting off a goat's head has had his sentence reduced.

Scott Peter Romano, a former RSPCA volunteer, was sentenced to a year's imprisonment after he pleaded guilty in the District Court in Brisbane to breaking into a community church in the city's west with three others and killing the animal.

Romano's trial heard it was a ritualised killing of a family pet that had a traumatic impact.

But the Court of Appeal today agreed that Romano's sentence was manifestly excessive after one co-accused escaped jail while the remaining two fled interstate and have not been punished.

The court ordered Romano's release next week on parole.