Accused Thurgau cantonal veterinarian remains silent on the Hefenhofen case
Published: Wednesday, Jan 24th 2024, 17:40
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The trial against the former Thurgau cantonal veterinarian and three of his former employees began in Frauenfeld on Wednesday. All four refused to testify. The lawyer for the horse breeder involved from Hefenhofen criticized the overly lenient charges and unsuccessfully demanded a dismissal.
Preliminary questions and questioning were conducted on the first of ten scheduled trial days. The four defendants exercised their right to refuse to testify.
According to the indictment, the former head of the veterinary office is accused of failing to enforce animal welfare regulations in connection with a farm in Hefenhofen. The charges range from abuse of office, favoritism and cruelty to animals to damage to creditors and fraudulent mismanagement, theft of property, theft and coercion.
In August 2017, the Thurgau authorities ordered the eviction of a farm in Hefenhofen and confiscated 90 horses, among other things. Photos of severely neglected animals had previously circulated in the media. The horses were later auctioned off.
The members of the authorities were accused by animal rights activists, among others, of having waited far too long to take action.
Plaintiff fails with dismissal of charges
At the beginning of the hearing, the lawyer for the farmer from Hefenhofen, as the plaintiff, called on the district court in an hour-long speech to dismiss the prosecution's charges for amendment and improvement.
Several accusations were missing, the lawyer argued. For example, the sale of numerous animals after the "unlawful eviction" was not part of the indictment. His client therefore lacked the basis to claim specific damages.
He recalled his client's acquittal in the first instance. In March 2023, the horse breeder stood trial before the Arbon District Court for multiple counts of cruelty to animals. The court acquitted him of numerous charges due to unusable "evidence". The public prosecutor appealed against this.
Court rejects application
It was not up to the court to dictate to the public prosecutor's office which charges should be added, the judge said, explaining his decision to reject the motion for referral.
The plaintiff's legal representative then filed a recusal request against the public prosecutor's office and the court. He argued that the criminal proceedings against his client were not fair and anything but open-ended. There was the appearance of bias.
The presiding judge took note of the request. The Thurgau High Court would have to rule on this as the appeal court. The current hearing will be continued.
Angry and impulsive horse trader
During questioning by the judge, the former Secretary General of the Thurgau Department of Home Affairs and National Economy described the situation between the authorities and the horse breeder before the situation escalated with the shocking images of emaciated and dead horses and culminated in the evacuation of the farm.
According to the former Secretary General, he had personally visited the farm during inspections in the year before the eviction, where disorder had been noted but not serious animal welfare violations that would have required immediate action. However, it was felt that the farmer was overburdened with his business and had sought an agreement to reduce the number of animals.
The former general secretary described the horse breeder as angry and impulsive. He had become abusive when criticized and had downright despised the cantonal veterinarian.
No pleadings were made by the parties on Wednesday. These are expected on Thursday.
©Keystone/SDA
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