RSPCA ACT chief executive Tammy Ven Dange wonders in the fallout of Canberra courts failure to convict a man for battering a possum with a pole. 

"If this were a puppy or a cat, would it have been a different result?" Ms Ven Dange said.

"The Canberra community is divided over possums, but the fact is the law does not discriminate, animal's life is an animal's life.

"I feel like part of the population of Canberra think that possums don't deserve the same humane treatment as any other animal."

Ms Ven Dange took to social media on Thursday to express the organisation's outrage at the decision in the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

In one social media post, Ms Ven Dange said: "If someone wants to use possums as pinatas, apparently our @rspcaact inspectors can't stop you."

In another she wrote: "Possum beater on video not convicted!  So frustrated!!"

Possum beater on video not convicted! So frustrated!! @rspcaact http://t.co/0sTgZ4Ai0F via @canberratimes — Tammy Ven Dange (@tvendange) February 25, 2015

Graphic footage, captured by neighbours and shown in court Wednesday, shows a two-to-three metre piece of PVC pipe strike the possum about 12 times as it clings to an electrical wire near a home.

The possum then hangs by its tail and is hit a further four times until it falls out of sight.

Domaneco Zizi, 86, denies continuing the attack once the possum landed in the backyard of his Lyons home.

He pleaded guilty to animal cruelty.

A charge of aggravated cruelty was dropped by prosecutors.

But Magistrate Beth Campbell declined to convict Mr Zizi, as the court had been presented with no evidence to show the harm suffered by the possum, and the defendant's age and crime-free life entitled him to leniency.

The heard that Mr Zizi had previously left food out for the possum.

But he attacked it when it attempted to enter the roof cavity of his Woden home, as he feared it would cause damage to his Woden home.

Mr Zizi's lawyer, Jessica Vogel, said her client was "deeply ashamed" and "embarrassed" by his actions.

Ms Ven Dange called for Canberrans to show more compassion and understanding towards territory's fauna, saying part of living in the bush capital involved interactions with animals.

She said Canberrans needed to respect the rights of wildlife to be treated in a humane way.

Ms Ven Dange said Canberrans who encounter problematic animals should call professionals to have them relocated.

A Territory and Municipal Service spokesperson said laws governing animal welfare contained a large number of provisions that covered a wide range of activities that inflict farm or threaten animals.

The maximum penalty for animal cruelty was one  year's jail, while aggravated cruelty doubled the term to two years behind bars.

But the spokesperson said it was up to the courts to apply the laws based on the circumstances and evidence presented before them.