Shepherd dog beaten

Animal cruelty trial after argument while “going for a walk”

A 29-year-old local man had to answer to the Innsbruck Regional Court on Tuesday. The charge: he allegedly punched a strange dog several times. Was it criminal cruelty to animals?

The incident took place in Innsbruck in February of this year. The accused was walking his dog there when suddenly an unleashed German shepherd "shot at him", as he described it vividly and noticeably upset during the trial. "The dog then bit both me and my dog," he explained.

Defendant ran after the couple
What happened next, however, remained partially unclear. "I ran after the dog owner and her male companion and wanted their names," said the man, who repeatedly described himself as "very fond of animals". Under no circumstances did he then hit their dog on the head and in the face with his fist, as accused. "That is simply a lie," he said succinctly.

Witnesses: "He hit the dog with his fists" 

The people questioned as witnesses, who were out and about with the "opposing" dog, saw things completely differently. "He pulled my dog to the ground by the chain and then hit the dog viciously and violently," said the dog owner. The man who accompanied her at the time described the incident in a similar way: "He repeatedly hit the dog with his fists".

For animal cruelty, the blows would have to have the intensity of crude mistreatment

Der Richter zur Begründung des Freispruchs

Acquittal, as no "crude mistreatment"
Judge Michael Böhler largely believed the witnesses. "It probably happened in one way or another," he said. However, it was also the case that the punches were by no means so violent that they constituted cruelty to animals. "For that to be the case, the blows would have to have the intensity of crude mistreatment". He therefore acquitted the man - not legally binding.