Zurich Uster district court convicts farmer of animal cruelty

The District Court of Uster has convicted a 48-year-old farmer of multiple counts of cruelty to animals. It imposed a conditional prison sentence of eight months and a fine of CHF 3,000.

The court did not assume that the calves and cows had been deliberately mistreated. "The accused was probably overwhelmed", said the judge on Friday. Because he had been made aware of the abuses on several occasions, the court assumed that he had accepted the damage and pain suffered by the animals.

More workers would have been needed on the farm in the Zurich Oberland, but the farmer did not accept offers of help. The judge said that the accused had not shown any real remorse or insight during the investigation. After several inspections, the farmer was banned from keeping animals.

14 cases of cruelty to animals

The court found 14 cases of cruelty to animals through severe neglect. The disregard for the dignity of the animal was criminally relevant. For this, it handed down a conditional prison sentence for which a probationary period of two years applies.

The court deemed dozens of other cases to be violations of the Animal Welfare Act. He must pay the fine for this and other violations. Some of the accusations made by the prosecution were not sufficiently substantiated, and the accused was acquitted in some cases.

The judge explained that photos and videos from the veterinary office proved that there were abuses. The accused had signed the inspection reports in each case.

More detailed reasons for the problems on the farm in the Zurich Oberland were not revealed at the hearing. The 48-year-old stayed away from the hearing without giving a reason - for the second time. As he was able to comment on the allegations during the investigation, the court nevertheless discussed his case. The public prosecutor decided not to attend. The verdict is not yet final.

List of grievances gets longer and longer

The veterinary office inspected the farm six times between 2020 and 2022 - and each time, the list of animal welfare violations grew longer. There were lame cows with overlong claws, trembling, dirty calves and emaciated young animals in the barn.

On more than one occasion, animals had to be euthanized as soon as they were inspected so as not to prolong their suffering unnecessarily, according to the indictment. There was wet, moldy feed in the feeding troughs, and in some cases there was also a lack of water.

In April 2022, the office finally had the farm partially cleared. This revealed that the Swiss man had also neglected the administration of his farm. On the day of the eviction, 76 animals were actually registered on the farm. However, a number of them could no longer be found. Instead, there were several cows that were not registered. In total, there were 89 animals on the farm.

The public prosecutor's office had demanded a conditional prison sentence of 10 months and a fine of CHF 2,000 for the 48-year-old.