A man who threw a dog out of a window was sentenced to five years in prison
The Netishyn City Court in Khmelnytskyi Oblast heard a case involving the cruel treatment of an animal that resulted in its death. The criminal proceedings centered on an incident involving a Toy Terrier that died after being thrown out of a window.
This was reported by the “Judicial and Legal Gazette.”
During the trial, the court established that a man who was caring for a 13-year-old Toy Terrier, while in an apartment on the seventh floor of a high-rise building, intentionally threw the animal out of a window. The injuries sustained from the fall proved fatal. According to expert findings, the dog died from numerous mechanical injuries that caused internal organ rupture and severe internal bleeding.
The defendant did not admit guilt and claimed that the animal had jumped out of the window on its own. His live-in partner and mother provided similar explanations. However, the court examined the testimony of eyewitnesses who were the first to find the injured dog and attempted to help it. They described the man’s behavior after the incident, his remarks about the animal, and actions that, in their opinion, hindered the provision of assistance.
In addition to witness testimony, the court reviewed the results of the scene examination, materials from the apartment search, video recordings, the findings of a canine expert, as well as other evidence, including data on weather conditions on the day of the incident. Taken together, these provided grounds to conclude that the version of the dog accidentally falling out of the window did not correspond to the actual circumstances of the case.
The court found it proven that the animal had been subjected to cruel treatment leading to its death and classified the defendant’s actions under Part 3 of Article 299 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. At the same time, the court did not agree with the prosecution’s assertion of particular cruelty, noting that no evidence of intent to inflict additional suffering on the animal had been provided.
The court also refused to consider the state of intoxication as an aggravating circumstance, since this element was not included in the indictment.
In determining the sentence, the court considered the severity of the crime, the consequences in the form of the animal’s death, and the defendant’s personal circumstances, as he had no prior criminal record. As a result, the man was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison. He will remain in custody until the verdict becomes final.
The decision may be appealed to the Khmelnytskyi Court of Appeals.
As a reminder, German police identified a 65-year-old man and launched an investigation following a series of incidents involving the injury and death of pigeons in the city of Freiburg.
In Odesa, law enforcement officials have opened a criminal case regarding the mistreatment of domestic animals.
In Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, during the “Horses of Boykivshchyna” festival, which took place on January 24–25 in the village of Porohy, cases of cruelty to horses were documented.
