The man who shot a dog and buried it alive in 2011 has lost his watchman licence after a magistrate ruled that the animal cruelty case which made international headlines made him untrustworthy.

Alfred Vella, a 46-year-old farmer, admitted being cruel to the dog, named Star, on May 19, 2011. He was originally imprisoned for three months, but the sentence was suspended for two years on appeal while a €10,000 fine was reduced to €9,000. "medium"]Dog killer Alfred Vella. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi[/attach]

The story made international news after the dog was discovered buried in a field near Għar Ħasan by animal welfare officers. Whimpering, the dog poked its nose through the soil of the grave to stay alive. However, Star died on June 6 from an acute inflammation of the pancreas. During the original arraignment in 2011, Police Inspector Ramon Mercieca had said Mr Vella had shot the dog using a homemade gun built for illegal hunting.

Dog killer Alfred Vella. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

Mr Vella had told police Star was his mother-in-law’s dog. She had asked him to take it to the dogs’ home but decided to get rid of the dog as the home was closed. He tied the dog, before shooting and burying it. Star lay in a shallow grave for 14 hours before being discovered.

Following his conviction, Mr Vella applied to have his watchman licence renewed but this was refused as it was “not in the public interest”.

He appealed to the Administrative Review Tribunal, presided over by Magistrate Charmaine Galea, arguing that the decision was “unreasonable” and based on “irrelevant considerations”.

The tribunal heard how Mr Vella had been working for a security company since May 2011 and also as a premises attendant at Pender Gardens while the construction project was under way.

Magistrate Galea said although animal cruelty had nothing to do with his job, the crime he had committed was serious enough to cast a shadow on his trustworthiness and upheld the police decision to refuse his application.