Zakynthos court hands stiff penalty to dog killer
A court on the Ionian island of Zakynthos has sentenced a 46-year-old man to a 22-month suspended prison sentence and slapped him with a 5,000-euro fine after he was found guilty of shooting a dog with an unregistered firearm.
The unusually harsh punishment was handed down on Tuesday morning after the defendant confessed to shooting the animal, though he claimed he was acting in self-defense.
In his testimony, the 46-year-old claimed that the dog had been tied up on his recently deceased father’s farm and attacked him when he tried to feed it. He claimed that the gun belonged to his father and that he used it only in self-defense.
The hearing was attended by several animal rights activists.
