Hobby hunter shoots own cat with shotgun

Shotgun instead of veterinarian

A 48-year-old hobby hunter from the canton of St. Gallen shot his elderly cat with a shotgun, without possessing the required expertise or anaesthetising the animal.

He buried the cat in the garden to avoid a visit to the vet. This violated the provisions of the Animal Protection Act and the Weapons Act.

Hunting training is not sufficient for domestic animals

According to the Animal Protection Ordinance, killing one's own pet is prohibited. There are regulations in Switzerland governing the humane killing of animals. The person must, for instance, possess the requisite expertise. “The hunting training, which relates exclusively to wild animals, cannot be equated with the expertise required to kill domestic animals,” stated the public prosecutor's office. Only veterinarians are permitted to euthanise pets such as cats, provided no general grounds for justification such as an emergency situation exist, writes 20min.ch.

Shoot, shovel, and stay silent

Unsurprisingly, hobby hunters in St. Gallen are also poorly trained and their ethical compass is severely skewed (shoot, shovel, and stay silent).

Dossier Hunting Administration St. Gallen:

• Dominik Thiel: Wolf hunter at public expense – an office director as a security risk for wildlife protection
• Psychology of hunting in the canton of St. Gallen
• Hunting season until New Year’s Eve: culling pressure instead of wildlife management
• Patent hunting as a solution to red deer conflicts?
• Hunting Administration St. Gallen: wolf management without science and without credibility
• The authorisation to shoot a wolf in the canton of St. Gallen was unlawful
• Public dumbing-down in the canton of St. Gallen
• Office for Hunting and Nonsense in St. Gallen modernises hunting training
• St. Gallen wants to regulate wolf pack at Gamserrugg
• Controversy surrounding Swissofficials at wolf hunt in Russia
• «Experts» in St. Gallen end wolf regulation for this winter
• The rotten apple in St. Gallen’s hunting administration
• Lying hunter became department head in the canton of St. Gallen
• St. Gallen: Stop the fox and badger massacre
• Are BAFU and the hunting administrations still operating responsibly?
• How hobby hunter Simon Meier leads onto the wrong track

As a consequence, the hobby hunter was sentenced to a fine of 1’900 francs, including a penalty of 1’500 francs and additional fees and expenses of 400 francs.