As written in the press release of the court, DM was accused of being a farmer, keeping cattle and acting carelessly, with the obligation to ensure that the animals kept by her did not go alone outside the territory of the land holding where they are kept, did not pose a threat to the lives of people, other animals, health or wealth, on November 16, 2023, at about 1 p.m., during the interrupted electric shepherd, – from in a pasture located in Klaipėda district, her cattle – a bull, ran into AN’s homestead, attacked and injured AN, who was taken to the hospital – died in an ambulance.
The court, after evaluating the evidence gathered in the case and examined at the court hearings, concluded that DM’s guilt for the criminal act charged against her is proven.
He denied the guilt
The accused did not admit her guilt in court and said that she has been a farmer for more than 40 years and has properly ensured protection.
She doesn’t know who pulled out the electric shepherd, maybe the sheep or other animals. The stakes were overturned, but the electric shepherd was working. The electric shepherd was plugged into a box outlet that is remote from the farm.
She didn’t check the electric shepherd every day, even though she installed it herself. She does not own the farm itself, she only owns the land.
3 stakes that were closer to the dead house were pulled out. Her livestock ie 10 heifers and a bull were loose as they cannot be kept tied. The electric shepherd was not interrupted, it worked.
The court: had a duty to provide protection
The court found that the accused, as a livestock keeper, had the duty to ensure that the animals kept by her, in this case calves, did not pose a threat to human life and that the calves kept by her did not go outside the territory of the land holding where they are kept.
It turned out that 3 months before the accident – on August 8 – the farmer was administratively punished according to Article 364, Part 4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Lithuania, for not ensuring that the cows belonging to her did not leave the territory, as a result of which they left , – damaged someone else’s property.
The court stated that objectively the act of the accused, namely the disregard of the Animal Welfare and Protection Law of the Republic of Lithuania and the rules for keeping animals in the residential areas of municipal territories was the cause of AN’s death and this is a legally significant causal relationship between the act and its effects, and these effects were a regular result of the act.
Sentenced to imprisonment
When imposing the sentence, the court took into account the fact that the accused committed a negligent completed crime, had no previous convictions, did not admit her guilt in this case, was punished administratively for a similar offense, and is a farmer.
Aurelijos Jašinskienė/15min.lt photo/Klaipėda district court
The court also assessed the absence of mitigating and aggravating circumstances. The court, having assessed the stated circumstances, sentenced the accused to 4 years of imprisonment, the execution of which was suspended for a period of 2 years, obliging her not to leave the city (district) of her place of residence during the suspended sentence period without the permission of the institution supervising the convict.
The verdict also decided to partially satisfy the civil lawsuits of the four victims and to award 53 thousand in their favor. compensation for non-material damage and 2,740 for material damage.
Source: www.15min.lt
