Horses badly mistreated - Cruelty to animals at equestrian squadron - police officers in court
Two police officers from the Mannheim riding squad have been charged with suspected animal cruelty. The officers are accused of beating service horses with a riding crop, torturing them with a rattle bag full of tinned food and applying pepper paste to the feeding trough in several cases. According to the public prosecutor's office, they accepted the animals' pain and violated the Animal Welfare Act. As an expert witness is ill with coronavirus, the Mannheim district court postponed the trial on Thursday shortly after it began until the end of February.
Seven witnesses are to be heard. Further possible dates are planned for March. The trial is only taking place because the officers have appealed against penalty orders. The 40 and 55-year-old police officers did not comment at the start of the trial.
Mannheim police officer allegedly tortured horse with pepper paste
The younger man is accused of putting a jute sack full of canned food on Camilo the horse in 2020. According to the public prosecutor, the rattling noise caused the animal to panic and run "out of fear continuously and to the point of exhaustion". At the end of 2021, the police officer allegedly hit a horse with a riding crop so that it stood up on its hind legs and tried to escape from the box - assessed as considerable pain. A violation of the Animal Welfare Act, which can be punished with a prison sentence of up to three years.
The older officer is said to have hit the service horse Corleone with the flat of his hand without cause. In order to prevent misconduct, a pepper-based paste was also applied to a feeding trough - thus significantly impairing the horse's well-being.
Police officers still employed by the equestrian squadron
According to the police headquarters, the officers are still employed by the equestrian squadron. The whole thing came to light following a complaint. Details remained unclear. There were initially no internal consequences: "Disciplinary proceedings were not initiated for the time being and the matter will be conclusively examined once the criminal investigation has been concluded."
The number of employees and animals at the equestrian squadron in Mannheim reportedly fluctuates. In general, there is a need for 15 fully qualified police horses, 15 police riders as well as a manager and 6 people to look after the animals.
Read also:
- Will he be convicted as Jutta's murderer after 37 years?
- He also wanted to kill his cousin
- With live stream! Gawkers film dying man
- Is Saarland threatened with economic collapse?
- This incident of animal cruelty occurred in the equestrian squadron based in Mannheim, Germany, which falls under the jurisdiction of Baden-Württemberg.
- Despite being charged with cruelty to animals, the two police officers involved in the case are still employed by the equestrian squadron, raising questions about the protection of animals under the Animal Welfare Act in this unit.
- The younger officer is specifically accused of causing distress to the horse Camilo by placing a jute sack full of canned food on its back, leading to panic and exhaustion, as well as inflicting significant pain by using a riding crop.
- The older officer is suspected of violating the Animal Welfare Act by hitting the horse Corleone without justification and applying a pepper-based paste to the feeding trough, severely impacting the horse's well-being.
- The postponement of the trial in Mannheim due to the coronavirus situation has pushed the process back until the end of February, with seven witnesses still expected to testify on the matter.
Source: www.stern.de
