Veterinarian sentenced for dog abuse
In the video, shared on social media in February 2020, he is seen kicking and throwing Jack, a small white Jack Russell, into the air, pinning him behind a trash can. The chilling images had been captured by a neighbor of this veterinarian’s office in Eure, in the town of Vironvay, near Louviers. The Stéphane Lamart association for the defense of animals had taken over. Two years later, justice passed too. Initially prosecuted before the criminal court of Evreux, the practitioner had been released a year ago. But this Wednesday he was sentenced, report France 3 Normandy.
The public prosecutor, who asked for a six-month suspended prison sentence and a ban on practicing for five years, quickly appealed the judgment. The Rouen Court of Appeal (Seine-Maritime) found him guilty, “but he can still exercise”, notes Paris Normandy. He will have to pay a fine of 5,000 euros, plus damages to each of the three civil parties (the Stéphane Lamart association, the Brigitte Bardot foundation and the order of veterinarians of France). No suspended prison sentence, nor suspension of his professional activity.
“The methods that were his were no longer acceptable”
In court, the veterinarian had to answer for violence against two dogs: Jack but also Don Corleone (an American Staff). The appeals court recognized the “abuse” against Jack, the reason for the conviction, but reclassified the facts concerning Don Corleone as simple “abuse”, that is to say a contravention of the fourth class, details Actu.fr.
“The goal was to re-educate these dogs so that they respect a hierarchy and that they do not put anyone in danger. They were violent and aggressive towards other animals. The cries of pain that we hear on the video are those of the puppies that the jack had attacked”, had justified the defendant at the hearing, says Paris Normandy.
His lawyer, who explains on France 3 that his client “understood that the methods which were his, although relatively effective, were no longer acceptable in today’s society” nevertheless considered appealing to the Court of Cassation.