A poultry breeder whose animals were brutally attacked by the unruly dogs of a neighbouring farmer, ended up in trouble when his attempt to scare away the ferocious canines badly misfired.

Carmel Dimech, owner of a farm in the limits of Rabat, pleaded not guilty in criminal proceedings over an incident which occurred last November when the umpteenth attack by the neighbour's dogs resulted in one of them being hit by lead pellets fired from the accused's rifle.

Taking the witness stand on Monday morning, prosecuting inspector Robert Vella explained how investigations had kicked off following a report by the dog owner that one of her pets had been shot at.

Investigations had led to Mr Dimech who explained how the incident had taken place when two of his neighbour's dogs returned to his farm. Alerted by the sounds of the fierce animals seeking to get to his turkeys in their shed, the farmer rushed outside, trying to shoo the dogs away but to no avail.

Rushing back inside, he re-emerged armed with a hunting rifle which he used to fire some shots in the hope of scaring the dogs away. One of the animals ran off before the shots were fired, but the other animal persevered, ending up being hit by some pellets which, the court was told, ricocheted off a wall.

The dog then ran off, yelping, the court heard.

The farmer had told the police that he had long been suffering persistent attacks by the dogs and had refrained from reporting his neighbour for not exercising proper control over her animals. He had wished to maintain good relations with the neighbours and had tried, instead, to advise her on how she ought to keep her pets in check.

On previous occasions, the dogs had killed seven kittens, six cats and even chickens belonging to Mr Dimech and yet he had suffered in silence. It was only after the attack on his turkeys that a report had been filed and in fact, criminal action had been instituted against the neighbour.

Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit also heard how on an earlier occasion, the same neighbour had been fined for failing to keep her dogs under control.

Six firearms were exhibited in court, all of which, except for the one involved in the incident, were to be released to their owner who was warned by the magistrate not to use them again in similar manner.

The case continues.

Dr Joe Giglio was defence counsel.