A judge waxed lyrical yesterday about animals being the “kings and queens” of the environment, even citing a Spanish poem dedicated to the writer’s own dog.

Mr Justice Lawrence Quintano was handing down an appeal judgment in which he acquitted a man of intentionally running over a dog in Mellieħa in August last year.

Shaun Theuma had been found guilty of the charge and fined €2,000. The court heard how he had overtaken a garbage truck after being warned by the driver that there was a dog in the road.

However, Mr Theuma argued that he did not see the dog. Furthermore, the prosecution’s main witness, truck driver David Pace, did not testify and other witnesses had not actually witnessed the accident.

Mr Justice Quintano upheld the arguments. But although he was acquitting Mr Theuma he wanted to send a clear message that motorists should take all the necessary precautions to see that animals do not suffer and they should not drive carelessly. “Animals are the kings and queens of our environment” he said.

He quoted a sorrowful poem by Nobel Prize for Literature winner, Pablo Neruda, dedicated to his dog and included the Spanish original of the poem in the footnotes of the judgment.

The judge went on to say that in Germany even the Constitution had been amended to include a specific clause on the protection of animals.