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Ludger Beerbaum, here on horse Mila
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Uwe Anspach / picture alliance / dpa
Show jumper Ludger Beerbaum does not have to fear any criminal consequences after being charged with animal cruelty.
The public prosecutor's office in Münster has discontinued the investigation against the four-time Olympic champion "due to the allegation of a criminal offense under the Animal Welfare Act due to a lack of sufficient suspicion," as stated in a press release on Tuesday.
The animal protection organization Peta had reported against Beerbaum based on a contribution in the program “RTL Extra”.
In the article, Beerbaum was accused of using parallel bars as a prohibited training method for his jumping horses.
Beerbaum said in a statement on Tuesday: "The fact that the public prosecutor's office has closed the case is a confirmation for me.
This has now also proven that the allegations in the RTL report against me and my stable are not correct.
Now I hope that the Disciplinary Commission of the German Equestrian Federation will also come to a timely decision.«
In parallel bars, a bar is hit against the legs of the animals when they jump over an obstacle.
This causes pain in the horse.
At the beginning of the year, however, touching was still permitted, for which a maximum of three meters long and no more than two kilograms of smooth round wood may be used.
»Not every (brief) impairment of animal well-being is sufficient for criminal behavior;
rather, this impairment must be significant (“considerable”) in terms of type and duration,” said the public prosecutor.
According to the public prosecutor, the video sequences did not allow for a corresponding proof.
Beerbaum has always denied the allegations
The rider had already rejected the allegations after the RTL report had been broadcast and wrote: “The report from 'RTL extra' is demonstrably wrong, defamatory and defamatory in many respects.”
Beerbaum also "sent a comprehensive statement to the German Equestrian Federation (FN)".
He is confident that after examining these statements, the association will agree with his "opinion that the recordings are rule-compliant touching, which represents a permissible training method".
FN Secretary General Soenke Lauterbach, on the other hand, said "that parts of the documented processes clearly do not correspond to our description of the touching".
The light touching of the horse's legs with objects was allowed when jumping as touching, but the stronger parallel bars were not.
The case led to a rule change
The association proceedings against Beerbaum are still ongoing.
The public prosecutor's office did not examine whether Beerbaum had used an illegal training method.
“Because even if there were a violation of the rules, this would not be equivalent to committing a criminal offence.
The German Equestrian Association is responsible for examining any illegal training methods," said the public prosecutor.
The case sparked a wide debate.
In March, the FN decided to ban the controversial training method of touching in the future.
In doing so, she followed a recommendation from the Commission for Training Methods.
kjo/dpa