Court of Appeal orders two-month jail term for man who killed neighbour’s cat

Nicosia, Cyprus. The Court of Appeal ruled unanimously on Friday that a man who killed his neighbour’s cat with repeated blows to its head from a broomstick must actually serve a two-month prison term. It set aside the decision of the Nicosia district court to suspend the sentence for three years.

Suspension overturned

The appeal judges found that the lower court had not sufficiently justified suspending the sentence. They also held that the mitigating factors taken into account when setting the length of a sentence do not automatically warrant its suspension.

Attorney-general’s appeal rejected

The court did not accept the attorney-general’s argument that the two-month term was too lenient and should be raised. It acknowledged that the sentence could be regarded as lenient, but said it was not so inadequate that intervention was required.

Stance on animal cruelty

In its ruling, the Court of Appeal underlined that offences involving cruelty to animals require strict punishment. It said this is necessary both to deter potential offenders and to shield animals from abuse.

Background of the case

The Nicosia district court convicted the man after he admitted killing the cat in August 2021. He hit the animal on the head several times with a broomstick and then put it in a basket, where it briefly writhed before dying.

When setting the original sentence, the district court counted the defendant’s admission, his clean criminal record and his personal circumstances as mitigating factors. The Court of Appeal observed that it was unclear whether the trial court had properly weighed the brutality of the repeated blows, which caused a fatal head injury, or the fact that the injured cat was afterwards placed in a basket.