The Berettyóújfalu District Court announced a verdict on October 10, 2022, in the case of the defendant who fatally abused a dog in a Hajdú-Bihar settlement.
The court found the man guilty of the crime of animal cruelty, and therefore sentenced him to 1 year and 2 months in prison and banned him from practicing public affairs for 2 years.
According to the verdict, on November 21, 2021, at around 5:30 p.m., the defendant hit a two-and-a-half-month-old mixed-breed dog on the head with his hand and then threw the dog out into the yard. The man then unreasonably abused the animal and kicked it in the stomach with great force. The defendant then grabbed the dog’s two hind legs, lifted it up, and slammed it against the concrete pavement.
Due to the defendant’s actions, the animal suffered such serious injuries that it died an hour after the abuse. During the procedure, it was established that the man had caused the animal special suffering. At the court hearing, the defendant admitted his actions, according to his statement, he kicked the neighbor’s dog to death because he was annoyed that the animal had worms, entered the house, and approached his child.
Judge Dr. Szabolcs Budai took into account an aggravating circumstance during the oral justification of the verdict that the defendant has multiple criminal records in addition to his convictions, which establish his status as a multiple recidivists. At the same time, he assessed the man’s admission of the crime as a mitigating circumstance. The judge emphasized that the man’s inhuman, animalistic act is not acceptable in any form. If you were bothered by the health condition of your neighbor’s dog, you could have taken him to the vet for deworming.
The judgment of the Berettyóújfalu District Court is not final, the decision was acknowledged by the prosecution, while the accused filed an appeal for mitigation. The case continues at the Debrecen Court.
Court of Debrecen
