A man who threw a cat off a balcony which was four storeys high has been fined €500.

The accused Teodosio Baldacchino, 50 of Qormi but resident in Bugibba, told the court that he is an animal lover and especially loves cats.

He was at his partner's place in Bugibba along with her children when the incident happened on August 1. His partner's 10-year-old daughter was kicking him and in a moment of rage, instead of hitting the girl, he kicked the cat.  The cat fell off the balcony onto the road, ran across the street and was hit by a car towing a boat.

The cat died.

Olaf Cauchi from the Animal Welfare Department said that on the day in question, he received a phone call from the police saying that a cat had been thrown off a balcony and ended up on the rocks on the sea shore.

He found the cat on the rocks with a serious eye injury.

Mr Cauchi said there was quite some distance between where the cat was found and where it was thrown from, including the width of the road.

In submissions on punishment, defence lawyer Edward Gatt said his client was admitting animal cruelty because it was wrong of him to have treated the cat in that way. But this could not really be termed animal cruelty because it was not like leaving a dog in a hot car or a horse without water.

Magistrate Carol Peralta said this argument was ridiculous and if this was not animal cruelty, then what was?

He fined the accused €500 after taking into consideration that this was, by law, a contravention.