Ear-clipping dog owner fined, banned from keeping dogs by court

A man has been banned from owning dogs and fined after he admitted in court to having illegally carried out an illegal ear-cropping operation on his canine pet.

In an arraignment held on Thursday, Magistrate Gabriella Vella heard Inspector Elliot Magro explain how the police had been alerted to photos posted online by Etienne Sperandeo showing his dog with its ears having evidently been cropped.

Officers from Animal Welfare carried out an on-site inspection that same day and found the report to have been correct.

Sperandeo, 40, of Mosta, was subsequently charged with causing an animal to suffer unnecessarily, keeping an animal without ensuring it is treated correctly, or safeguarding its health and wellbeing. He was also charged with ordering the banned surgical intervention and buying or selling an animal that had been surgically modified illegally.

The man did not contest the charges, pleading guilty to all charges during his arraignment.

The court, after taking into account his early admission of guilt and his clean criminal record, fined him €2,000 and banned him owning a dog for the next three years.

Despite being banned from owning a new canine, the dog's whose ears were cropped was not confiscated by court.