Animal cruelty trial

Cow’s tongue torn out

Only the 23-year-old was sentenced to a fine

(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

Two farmers from the Bregenz area are currently on trial at Feldkirch Regional Court, accused of tearing out the tongue of a cow. The public prosecutor is demanding a lifelong ban on keeping animals. The incident had already led to the conviction of the father.

The father of the 23-year-old farmer had already been sentenced to a partial fine of 12,000 euros for animal cruelty at first instance in July 2024. The judge had followed the opinion of the veterinary surgeon responsible at the time, Erik Schmid, who came to the conclusion in his expert opinion that the cow had been subjected to unnecessary suffering due to the failure to provide pain relief.

Defendants spoke of an "accident"
On Monday, the son of the 69-year-old farmer was sentenced to an unconditional fine of 1440 euros for the same charge. The co-defendant, a 36-year-old farmer who was helping to cut the hooves at the time, was acquitted.

The incident took place back in October 2023 on the farm of the man already convicted. The latter, as well as the two now accused, had always spoken of an accident and denied any culpability. The 700-kilogram cow had fallen over and hit its jaw against the edge of the hoof crush. They claimed that the animal had bitten off its own tongue. Under no circumstances would they have tied the cow by the tongue and torn it out.

"Anatomically impossible"
In the current hearing, the expert witness came to the conclusion that the bovine's injuries were not necessarily caused by a rope. However, she considered it unlikely that the animal had injured itself. "A cow can bite its tongue, but it is anatomically impossible for it to bite its tongue off straight away, said the expert."

Wilfried Siegele, the public prosecutor, took a different view and demanded a guilty verdict for both defendants: "As the son of a former farmer, I know that a tear looks different from a bite! People like this should be banned from keeping animals for life," he demanded. The 23-year-old farmer, who has four previous convictions, has already announced that he will appeal against the verdict.