Siggiewi man fined for beating brother's dog

A court has fined a Siggiewi man €1200 for animal cruelty, after finding him guilty of beating a dog, which was tied to a wall on a lead, with a brick and a piece of wood.

Magistrate Neville Camilleri heard how Paul Attard, 53, of Siggiewi attacked the dog in November 2013 as he was walking in a field belonging to his brother, Alex. The dog was tied to a wall on a leash at the time.

In his testimony, Alex Attard claimed that on the day of the attack, he heard his brother shouting that he couldn’t make his way through the field “because of the dogs”. Alex Attard said that he shouted back “have they ever bitten you?” and went back inside his house. He looked out again after hearing noises and he saw his brother beating a dog with a piece of wood.

Alex Attard and his partner then confronted Paul Attard, who then made as if to attack them with the stick. At this point, Alex Attard said he sent his brother away from his field. Attard claimed the dog had an obvious wound on its nose and was heavily traumatised, and exhibited veterinary certificates and CCTV footage. From the CCTV footage, it appears that before beating the animal, Paul Attard threw a brick at it.

Alex Attard’s partner, Maryanne Zammit told the court that she had just taken the dogs out on the day of the attack and that they were in their field. She explained that they had moved to the farm so that the dogs would have more space to roam, and denied moving because of dog-related complaints. “We never had any trouble with the neighbours because of the dogs at our previous address” she said.

Dr. Kevin Camilleri, a vet who treated the animal, testified that he found a slight injury to the dog’s nose, which was bleeding. He said the dog was not concussed and had not suffered brain damage, but was “very agitated and anxious”.

The accused told the court that he had attacked the dog in a “fear-induced panic” after several dogs chased his motorcycle. He “only wanted to scare the dog” and said he never actually hit it. He also denied attacking his brother and brother’s partner, claiming that to the contrary, he had stones thrown at him by the couple.

The court, while taking into account the accused’s clean police conduct, described the act as cowardly and his argument as “puerile and insignificant” and said that he could have easily escaped. Had he wanted to defend himself, he would have driven off. It noted that, in spite of the accused’s fear of dogs, he stopped his motorcycle and went back to attack it.