Ex-head of Thurgau veterinary office acquitted in Hefenhofen case
Published: Tuesday, Mar 19th 2024, 15:40
Updated At: Tuesday, Mar 19th 2024, 16:31
العودة إلى البث المباشر
On Tuesday, the Frauenfeld District Court acquitted the former head of the Thurgau Veterinary Office of all charges. His three former employees were also acquitted in full. They were on trial for the Hefenhofen animal welfare case.
The court ruled that the defendants were not criminally responsible for their actions. Although mistakes had been made, the head of the office had not been inactive, contrary to the accusation made by the public prosecutor's office.
The court came to the conclusion that the former cantonal veterinarian had wanted to implement an early ban on keeping livestock on the farm in Hefenhofen on several occasions due to the abuses in animal welfare and had filed criminal charges.
Emaciated and dead animals in the media
The public prosecutor's office had accused the official veterinarian of multiple counts of abuse of office, favoritism by omission, cruelty to animals by omission, damage to creditors and dishonest business management.
The court case was based on criminal complaints from 2017 due to abuses on the farm of a horse breeder from Hefenhofen TG. Images of emaciated and dead horses had previously circulated in the media. Animal rights activists blamed the head of the veterinary department.
Under great public pressure, the farm was finally cleared and, among other things, 90 horses were confiscated and later auctioned off.
Main responsibility for department management
In his role as head of the veterinary office, the accused was of course responsible, but by no means alone, the judge explained at the sentencing. Numerous cantonal authorities had been involved in the case. The main responsibility lay with the head of the department. Whether they were liable to prosecution was not to be assessed in these criminal proceedings.
Animal rights activists also filed a criminal complaint against the responsible cantonal councillor in 2017. However, the office of the cantonal parliament rejected the necessary authorization for criminal proceedings against him; it saw political reasons behind the complaint.
Accusation of inactivity
The trial against the employees of the Thurgau Veterinary Office at the time lasted several weeks. The public prosecutor demanded a conditional prison sentence of 18 months and a conditional fine of 180 daily rates of CHF 190 each as well as a fine of CHF 6,800 against the cantonal veterinarian.
She accused him of having known about various abuses on the farm for years and of having remained inactive. Emaciated animals, a lack of water, rotten bread and dirty stables had been found on several occasions. According to the public prosecutor, nothing was done about this.
The lawyer of the former head of department rejected these accusations. De-escalation was repeatedly used to try to improve the situation with the animal owner in question. The owner was said to be extremely unruly and prone to violence. He emphasized the lack of support from other cantonal authorities - including the police - and portrayed his client as the victim of a state failure.
Separate proceedings against the horse breeder
In March 2023, the farmer from Hefenhofen stood before the Arbon District Court in separate proceedings for multiple counts of cruelty to animals, among other things. The court acquitted the former horse breeder of numerous charges.
Most of the "evidence" presented, with which the public prosecutor's office wanted to put the animal abuser with a criminal record behind bars for more than six years, could not be used, according to the ruling. The public prosecutor's office took the case to the high court, where it is pending.
In the lawsuit against the cantonal employees at the time, the horse breeder appeared as a private plaintiff. He argued that the farm was cleared illegally and that his horses had been auctioned at too low a price. The Frauenfeld District Court also considered this to be unproven.
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