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Updated | Bail set at €3,000 guarantee for man who shot unruly dog [WATCH]
Police to arraign 63-year-old man over animal abuse after he shot dead his dog because ‘it was too much to handle’.
17 February 2014, 12:00am
Chris Mangion
Chris Mangion
2 min read
Man to be charged with shooting his dog.
George Borg, 63 of Mosta, was granted bail on a €3,000 personal guarantee, and is now awaiting judgement after pleading guilty to charges of animal cruelty when he shot his Doberman because the dog had become a burden to him.
Prosecuting Inspector Joseph Busuttil said Mosta district police found a Doberman tied to a tree in Wied l-iSperanza, killed by shots from a shotgun. Further investigations revealed that the dog had been chipped, leading the investigators straight to the dog's owner, a pensioner from Mosta.
Borg was accused of killing the dog, keeping the animal when he knew he was not responsible enough to guarantee its wellbeing and of carrying a weapon without permit.
The prosecution exhibited a shotgun and five cartridges seized from Borg's residence, an autopsy report and X-rays showing that the dog was died from a gunshot to its head.
When the police knocked on his residence, the accused claimed his dog had ran away but later admitted to shooting the dog because it was too much to handle. "It was unruly and too large for me to control," Borg told officers.
Borg also claimed he had shot the dog about two weeks ago after realising he could not control the dog while walking it due to its size and strength.
Appearing for the accused, lawyer Caroline Farrugia said the accused had no criminal record and fully cooperated with the investigators.
Moreover the dog was said to have attacked the accused. "Even if he loved the dog, he could think of no other alternative but to put the dog down... Given his clean conduct and circumstances of the incident an effective jail term would not be opportune," the lawyer said.
The prosecuting inspector said that the accused admitted with the police that he had shot the dog, even before the investigators received the autopsy report.
The accused informed the court that he was sorry for his action and asked for forgiveness.
Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras granted the accused bail until judgement is delivered on Friday.
Chris Mangion is MaltaToday’s photojournalist, joining the newspaper in 2013.
In 1995...
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I love dogs and I've had one since I was 8 years of age. My life would be different without dogs. However, it is a fact of life that sometimes dogs have to be put down; through an injection; a shot as they do on pigs and cows in the slaughter house.
If the dogs starts biting people it is the police or the courts that sometimes orders you to put down the dog. Some animal welfare NGOs do the same. So the question is: did the guy shot the dog out of cruelty or out of necessity. This is the question.
NB He should have buried the dog out of politness to others.
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I love dogs and I've had one since I was 8 years of age. My life would be different without dogs. However, it is a fact of life that sometimes dogs have to be put down; through an injection; a shot as they do on pigs and cows in the slaughter house.
If the dogs starts biting people it is the police or the courts that sometimes orders you to put down the dog. Some animal welfare NGOs do the same. So the question is: did the guy shot the dog out of cruelty or out of necessity. This is the question.
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I am as appalled as other civilized people at animal cruelty, but I do not think that a dog owner killing his dog with a single shot to the head should be a serious crime (but illegal firearm possession is - granted).
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So now if the Magistrate reasons the same way as this 'person', will he be tied to a tree and shot??? Some time in the chiller and a hefty fine is called for.
