Court of law - 33 dead cattle: Charges brought against farmer
The Traunstein public prosecutor's office has brought charges against a farmer from Upper Bavaria for animal killing and cruel animal abuse by omission. The 48-year-old man is suspected of failing to adequately house, care for and look after the cattle he kept on his farm near Lake Chiemsee in the district of Rosenheim, the authorities announced on Tuesday. 33 cattle had died and 89 others had been caused considerable suffering.
According to the public prosecutor's office, in addition to a punishment commensurate with the offense and guilt, it is demanding a long-term ban on keeping animals for the accused in order to prevent further animal welfare offenses. The district court in Rosenheim must decide whether to open main proceedings.
The farmer did not comment on the allegations to the investigators, said a spokesperson for the public prosecutor's office. The "catastrophic conditions" were discovered in May 2023 and the surviving animals were brought to safety. Previous inspections had already revealed significant deficiencies in animal husbandry.
The manure in the barn was up to 30 centimetres high and the animals were neglected, dirty and poorly fed. 33 cattle were already dead and in some cases badly decomposed. The animals that were still alive had to endure an extremely strong smell of liquid manure and decay as well as the presence of the dead herd members, it said. "Without any possibility of escaping the situation."
The livestock owner had failed to feed and care for the cattle appropriately and had at least accepted their suffering and death. With proper care, all of the animals would have been spared months of suffering and the 33 dead cattle "would have lived relevantly longer".
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Source: www.stern.de
