As of: March 15, 2024, 6:00 p.m
By: Ulrike Osman
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The case was heard at the Landsberg district court.
© Mercury
A farmer who was accused of violating the Animal Welfare Act told the Landsberg district court an adventurous story.
But he couldn't get away with it.
Lechrain
– The 46-year-old from Lechrain runs cattle farming.
In January last year he failed to call the vet for a sick calf, according to the prosecution.
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The three-month-old animal suffered from purulent inflammation and a fracture of the metatarsal bone.
It ultimately died in agony.
The farmer then buried the animal at the edge of the pasture.
Animal slaughtered, cooked and fed to the dogs
The defendant admitted that there was actually a sick calf on his farm at the time in question.
“That was a woe.
Since he wanted to reduce the number of his animals anyway, he slaughtered the calf himself, cut it up, cooked it and fed it to his dogs.
He only “disposed of” the animal’s head by burying it in a meadow.
Judge Thomas Kirschner wanted to know how the calf from the indictment got to where it was found.
The farmer claimed that someone else had probably buried it there.
“Various people” didn’t like the fact that he put his cattle out to pasture in January.
He was reported to the veterinary office.
Genetic analysis brings clarity
According to this, an “unknown third party” who was actually committed to animal welfare allowed a calf to die in agony in order to harm the farmer, prosecutor Gregor Hohenadl tried to explain to him the absurdity of his statement.
And Kirschner responded to the remarks like this: “Maybe you think we’re stupider than we are.”
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In fact, the origin of the calf has been clarified.
Although it did not have an ear tag, a genetic analysis showed that the animal came from a cow on the defendant's farm.
All news and stories can also be found on the Schongauer Nachrichten Facebook page.
The farmer had already been sentenced to a high fine by penalty order and had appealed against it.
Kirschner now advised him to limit his objection to the amount of the punishment, but not to deny the accusation itself.
Witnesses from the veterinary office were already waiting outside the courtroom door.
If the defendant sticks to his story, he could face a punishment “that you won’t like,” warned Kirschner.
The 46-year-old, who appeared without a defense attorney, followed the advice from the judge's table and limited his objection to the amount of the daily rates imposed.
He now only practices farming “as a hobby”, works in another job, earns little and has a lot of debt.
Now a fine of 2800 instead of 5600 euros
The verdict was ultimately 140 daily rates of 20 euros each, a total of 2,800 euros, which was significantly lower than the 5,600 euros imposed in the original penalty order.
The defendant accepted the verdict in the courtroom.
It is therefore legally binding.
The local newspapers in the Weilheim-Schongau district are represented on Instagram under “merkur_wm_sog”.