Put two dogs in a bag and beat them to death with a bottle: court sentenced the man to 5 years imprisonment with probation

The Horodyshche District Court of Cherkasy region considered a criminal case regarding the accusation of a man in cruel treatment of two dogs, which led to their death. The court found him guilty under part three of article 299 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, sentenced him to five years imprisonment, and released him from serving the sentence with probation.

Essence of the case

The court established that the accused, while on the yard of a household in the village of Voronivka, Cherkasy region, contrary to the requirements of article 4 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Protection of Animals from Cruel Treatment" and article 63 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Animal World," placed two mongrel dogs living on that yard into a polymer bag and carried them to the adjacent territory of the village cemetery.

After that, he intentionally inflicted an unspecified number of blows on the dogs inside the bag with an empty glass bottle. Both animals died on the spot from the received injuries.

The actions of the accused were qualified under part three of article 299 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine as cruel treatment of vertebrate animals that led to their death, committed against two animals in an active manner.

During the court hearing, the accused fully admitted his guilt, did not dispute the time, place, method, motive, purpose, and form of guilt, and also confirmed the circumstances stated in the indictment. By agreement of the parties, the court, guided by part three of article 349 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, deemed it inappropriate to examine evidence regarding circumstances that were not disputed by anyone, explaining to the participants the consequences of such procedural decision.

No civil claim was filed within the criminal proceedings. Preventive measures against the accused during the pre-trial investigation and court hearing were not applied.

Position and conclusions of the court

In case No. 691/460/26, the court noted that according to article 370 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, the court decision must be lawful, substantiated, and motivated, and its conclusions must be based on evidence examined during the court hearing and evaluated according to article 94 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.

The court also drew attention to the provisions of paragraph 6 of part two of article 18, articles 22 and 23 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Protection of Animals from Cruel Treatment," which prohibit intentionally beating, killing, poisoning, or mutilating animals and committing actions against them that contradict the principles of their protection from cruel treatment.

Having assessed the totality of the examined evidence, the court concluded that the guilt of the accused in committing the criminal offense provided for in part three of article 299 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is fully proven. The court believes that the accused, realizing the unlawful nature of his actions, grossly violated social relations that ensure generally accepted moral principles of treatment of animals.

Referring to the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, in particular the decisions in the cases "Fedorchenko and Lozenko v. Ukraine" and "Verentsov v. Ukraine," the court noted that the proof of guilt must be assessed by the criterion "beyond reasonable doubt," as well as taking into account the relevance, reliability, and quality of evidence.

When imposing the sentence, the court was guided by articles 50 and 65 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the provisions of article 8 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine dated November 2, 2004 No. 15-rp/2004, explanations set out in the resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of Ukraine dated October 24, 2003 No. 7 "On the practice of courts in sentencing," as well as the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, in particular the decision in the case "Scoppola v. Italy," according to which the punishment must be proportional to the severity of the committed criminal offense and must not constitute an excessive burden for the person.

When determining the type and size of the punishment, the court took into account that the committed crime belongs to the category of serious crimes, the accused has no previous convictions, is not registered with a psychiatrist or narcologist, and mitigating circumstances are sincere remorse and active assistance in solving the crime. The court did not find any aggravating circumstances.

The court concluded that correction and re-education of the convicted person is possible without isolation from society. Considering his behavior, full admission of guilt, and the absence of objections from the participants regarding the application of probation, the court sentenced him to five years imprisonment without confiscation of animals, as they died as a result of the crime, and under article 75 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine released the convicted person from serving the sentence with probation for two years.

The convicted person was assigned obligations provided by article 76 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: to periodically appear for registration to the authorized probation body, to notify about changes in residence or work, and also to find employment or, upon referral by the probation authority, to apply to the state employment service for registration as unemployed and further employment if appropriate work is not offered.

The court separately ordered to destroy as physical evidence the empty glass bottle and polymer bag, which were seized during the pre-trial investigation and have no value.

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