Matthew Xuereb
Man who killed pit bull not charged with animal cruelty
A magistrate reprimanded the police because a man who killed his pet pit bull with a wooden stick after it bit and seriously injured a 12-year-old boy was not charged with animal cruelty.
Magistrate Miriam Hayman pointed out that this was "a serious shortcoming by the prosecution" in the course of the investigations into an incident where the boy was bitten.
Joseph Coleiro, 53, of Siġġiewi, was charged with keeping the dog without a police licence and with failing to look after the animal when it attacked and bit the boy twice.
The incident took place on April 24, 2004, when Mr Coleiro was at a club in his home town. His son and his friend were at home playing a computer game while the dog was locked inside the garage.
The court heard that at one stage, the boys were playing with the dog when they decided to let him loose. The dog bit the friend on the leg and then sank his teeth into his hand.
Mr Coleiro testified that when he returned home he learnt about the incident. He said he took the dog to the garage and hit it with a wooden stick, killed it and then disposed of the carcass.
"Quite frankly, this is a shortcoming by the prosecution in the way they investigated this case. The prosecution failed to prove the incident took place because the accused had failed to take care of the dog. His biggest fault was killing the animal in the most cruel and inhuman manner, which only goes to show his gross ignorance. Mr Coleiro should answer to this too," the court noted.
She found him guilty of keeping a dog without a licence and fined him €11.65. He was cleared of the other charge.
It is not known whether the police will charge Mr Coleiro with cruelty to animals since questions sent to the police remained unanswered.
According to information given in Parliament recently, 18 people have so far this year been arraigned over animal cruelty, compared to eight for the whole of last year.
Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici said four of the accused this year lived in Qormi, three in St Paul's Bay, two each in Rabat and Birkirkara and one each at St Julians, Żurrieq, Mellieħa, Vittoriosa, Bidnija, Marsaxlokk and Msida.
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23 Comments
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Aslihan Arikan-Zammit
Nov 27th 2009, 21:40
Justice for all, no barbarism, end of ignorance. Let's call it a civilized society, shall we? Yes, a pit bull may bring real danger however this man should be considered as life-threatening as the poor animal. It's a dog-eat-dog world. It's just some survive and some not!
Josef Micallef
Nov 27th 2009, 20:17
@ Joseph Galea I think what John Vella meant was, there could be a reason why a man shoots a man, but there is no reason why a man should kill an animal - animal instinct refers to the act of the man who killed his pet! €11.65 is for the no licence - however I believe he should have received a hefty fine and some hours of work with animals!
estelle grech
Nov 27th 2009, 08:46
Bludgeoning a pit bull witha wooden stick??!!! This is downright barbaric. Could the owner not have taken the dog to a vet to kill it humanely at least? This act of savagery was done in cold blood and a fine of 11.65 Euro is laughable and absurd and sends out the message loud and clear that it is ok to abuse animals in this country because our courts of law will let perpetrators off with a slap on the wrist.
Joseph Galea
Nov 26th 2009, 19:02
John Vella - are you for real?
When I read the sort of thing you wrote I become more convinced of the saying I have on my desk : " The more people I meet, the more I like my dog."
There is no doubt that there are dogs that have been bred to be aggressive - such as pit bulls - but it is people who have done this. Nevertheless, there is never any reason to be cruel to them, or to kill them in an inhumane manner as in this case.
Rosalind Agius
Nov 26th 2009, 18:42
I read this article and I tremble with anger. How dare the police not charge this man with animal cruelty? The police never cared for animals and this only proves the point. They need to wake up from thier sleep when it comes to animals and start doing thier work. The work they are paid to do. Shame on the police system and shame on this man. This man deserves big jail time, how dare he beat a dog to death.
Sylvia Zammit
Nov 26th 2009, 17:44
Well Done Magistrate Hayman for reprimanding the police - who should have known better, but apparently, could not have cared less!
Simone Aquilina
Nov 26th 2009, 16:31
I would not hesitate to leave my children around pitbulls and bull terriers. These dogs are extremely loving but they do crave constant human company. If this dog was tied and kept in a garage I cannot imagine he was showed much love by his owner. As for hitting this type of dog with a stick to kill it..I find this hard to believe more likely his owner bludgeoned it to death..now if that doesn't constitute animal cruelty i do not know what does!
Daniela Attard
Nov 26th 2009, 14:37
€11.56 !! a parking ticket will cost you more...
david agius
Nov 26th 2009, 13:37
Go on with this barbaric behaviour .Execute your animals if you raise them up to act like savages and then they do.Justice is on your side. It will only get you a fine the same as buying a hamburger. No wonder there is so much animal cruelty on this island. Shame on whoever is responsible for justice not being done in the barbaric execution of this dog. There are other humane way to put an animal to sleep .Animal lovers,let your voices be heard.
Franco Farrugia
Nov 26th 2009, 12:04
Some points:
Well done to the Magistrate for showing that he cares for animals in general;
Hopefully, this was an administrative mistake on the part of the Police Force - a sad one, too.
A cruel man has been allowed to get off scot-free; he killed an animal with his own hands - even though that dog 'belongs' to him, he had absolutely no right to kill the dog.
A pitbull is a pitbull is a pitbull - he should have known the temperament of the dog. It was the man's own fault.
Pity that such people do not read this commentary or indeed, The Times. But such things make me want to throw up!
Some love he had for his 'pet'!
For shame!
Jonathan Galea
Nov 26th 2009, 11:03
11 Euro fine. Is this mickey mouse country or what?
Kevin Zammit
Nov 26th 2009, 10:56
I'm no expert but from what I read a German Shepherd is stronger and could kill a pit bull so it is stupid to classify certain breads as dangerous unless they are directly bred from wild wolf. That's just polititins pandering to ignorant populism. Some breeds do tend to have a certain bent in their character and some do have their own streaks but this i more due to bad and irresponsible breeding. The worst thing anyone can do is chain and isolate a strong willed and powerful dog. These sort of owners foolishly think that by socialising a dog they will loose their guarding or fighting instinct.
These type of dogs require a lot of daily exercise and being kept active. They should also be socialised at a very early age and if one does not know how to raise them they should either not get involved in the first place or consult an expert.
@John Vella and Justin Meli
Ban the benghali tiger as well :)
John Vella
Nov 26th 2009, 10:51
At least there is a reason why a man shoot a man. but give me a reason for an animal (dog etc)? Animal instinct. kill to survive.
Eric Soames
Nov 26th 2009, 10:39
There are no bad dogs, only bad dog owners.
ABORG
Nov 26th 2009, 10:18
@John Vella
Your comments certainly are no answer for a solution and besides there is a difference between a Pet and an animal, and besides what u give to your pet in terms of love and affection you will get back .....if you only maltreat it, you will get back a frustrated animal!
Steve Rogers
Nov 26th 2009, 10:14
As far as I know it pit bulls are illegal in Malta and if found are to be put to sleep.
@John Vella,
ALL dogs? Going a bit overboard. After all they are man's best friend. I have german shepards and one of them actually saved my life from an intruder who tried to stab me. So please do not generalise.
Justin Meli
Nov 26th 2009, 10:10
@john vella
a man shot a man , ban this kind of breed and ALL man , man or no man , they are still an animal
John Vella
Nov 26th 2009, 10:02
just ban these type of breeds and ALL dogs, Pet or no pet, they are still an ANIMAL.
Vanessa Bonnici
Nov 26th 2009, 09:40
This is an outrage. Of course the dog bit the boy, I'd bit if i'd been left alone for God knows how long, chained in a garage (!). Why wasn't the man charged with animal cruelty, he basically beat the dog to death!!!!!
This is a gross miscarriage of justice and this man should be charged with animal cruelty!!!!
WHAT IS THE POINT OF OWNING A PET IF YOU LEAVE IT CHAINED AND ALONE IN THE GARAGE?!?!?!?!
colin stanley
Nov 26th 2009, 09:35
I love dogs, we had a dalmation for 12 years ,it suffered with epileptic fits, I used to give him pills everyday.my grandaughters used to do all sort of things with this dog, he was so gentle, but we never left them on their own with the dog. god forbid if somthing similar would have happened ,I don't know what my reaction might have been.imagine coming home to find someone else's child bitten badly by your dog, what if this boy had his face ripped open, what then. if they are illegal to keep heavey fines should be imposed.
Vince deBono
Nov 26th 2009, 09:31
WHY did he kill his own (expensive) pet? To avoid another worse tragedy?
'HOW' could have been more humane from my point of view as a person who likes dogs.
Lorraine Vella
Nov 26th 2009, 09:28
shame on the man. shame on the police. shame on the law.
G. Grech
Nov 26th 2009, 09:02
The salient point in this article is that the accused got fine €11.65 for keeping illegally a pit bull. This kind of "punishment" is ridiculing the work of the law enforcers.