TierCrime Podcast 8: German Shepherd Aiko kicked to death
A 20-month-old German Shepherd is brutally killed in the Emmental. A man kicks him in the head with steel-capped boots and throws the carcass down a slope in the forest. The Aiko case shocks Switzerland and demonstrates: animal cruelty in this country far too often remains without consequence.
The young German Shepherd Aiko was taken in by a single mother in the Emmental.
When the breeder wanted to visit her protégé, she was repeatedly put off. Then the truth came to light: The woman's boyfriend had kicked the dog in the head so hard with a steel-capped boot that Aiko immediately fell dead and was subsequently disposed of in the forest.
«Kicked to death and simply disposed of, that's incomprehensible,» breeder Güntensperger told Blick. «You have to kick with incredible force. That shows intent to seriously and deliberately injure the animal.» The Bern cantonal police initiated investigations, the animal crimes unit found the dog's carcass and a person was detained.
Without public pressure nothing would have happened
Particularly disturbing: The animal keeper was already known to the cantonal veterinary office, and there were reports about her animal husbandry. Aiko's death might never have been solved if the animal protection organization 'Anihelp' had not made the case public. 'Without public pressure and the publication of this case, the truth would never have come to light,' states the petition, which is now intended to create political pressure.
Precisely this dynamic—authorities acting too late, a system that fails, and animals that have no voice—makes the Aiko case more than a tragedy. It is a symptom.
Episode 8: Investigative Journalism for Animals
In the new episode of TierCrime mit VanDam Dami and Vani also take an investigative approach themselves. The two lawyers, Dr. iur. Vanessa Gerritsen from the Foundation for Tier im Recht (TIR) and MLaw Damaris Kiefer, legal specialist at the General Secretariat of the Courts Canton Aargau, have researched, spoken with those involved, and attempted to understand the background.
Dami asks the questions that concern many people. Vani provides context: Why is animal cruelty a prosecutable offense and what does this mean for criminal prosecution? Why are investigations of animal crimes particularly difficult? And what responsibility do animal keepers and breeders bear?
Topics of this episode: Animal cruelty and legal classification in Swiss law, investigations and questions of evidence in animal crimes, responsibility of animal keepers and breeders, prosecutable offenses and the role of public pressure.
A petition demands consequences
The Aiko case has also set something in motion politically. A petition demands stricter consequences for violence against animals, more transparency in animal protection enforcement, and better integration of animal protection organizations in enforcement. Those who wish to support these demands can sign the petition directly:
Sign the petition: Protection for animals, stop violence, create transparency
Listen now
'TierCrime mit VanDam' is Switzerland's first true crime podcast that examines real cases of animal cruelty, unflinchingly, thoroughly, and with legal precision. For the animals that have no voice. And for a society that must finally pay attention.
Additional podcast episodes of TierCrime mit VanDam can be found in the Podcast-Kategorie auf wildbeimwild.com.
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