The man and woman, aged 52 and 68, were sentenced to a one-year suspended prison sentence. The court also ordered them to pay more than 150,000 euros for the costs of caring for the cats and dogs.
In 2014, police found the bodies of at least two cats and two dogs in the house. The cats were found to be dehydrated, malnourished and covered in parasites. The man said that he did not want to abandon the cats, but that he could not care for them.