After being sentenced to prison terms for animal cruelty, two farmers are taking action against the verdict. As the spokesman for the district court in Memmingen, Jürgen Brinkmann, said on Wednesday, the two accused had each appealed. Last week, the 68- and 25-year-old men, father and son, were sentenced to two years and two years and ten months, respectively. The father’s prison sentence was suspended.
The farmers were each found guilty of atrocious abuse of vertebrate animals by omission. The presiding judge Christian Liebhart spoke of “devastating conditions on site”. There weren’t enough places for the cows to lie down on the farms, and the droppings were up to half a meter high. Sick cattle and calves were not treated and orders from the authorities were disregarded. The judge criticized “ignorance of official requirements”. The behavior caused animals to suffer considerably, and several had to be killed in an emergency. The two farmers had admitted omissions.
The farmers made the headlines with their business in Bad Grönenbach (Unterallgäu district) three years ago when such violations became known on several Allgäu farms. In the course of the coming year, the operators of two other farms are also to answer in court in Memmingen.