A Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s man who had been found not guilty of animal cruelty allegations has had his acquittal overturned.

Robert Picco was charged with two criminal offences — willfully causing  unnecessary suffering to an animal and neglecting to provide suitable and adequate food, water, shelter and care for four dogs under his care.

The charges were laid after police were notified in 2018 that Picco had four beagles on his property that were emaciated with rib bones clearly showing. The dogs were near death, having not been fed nor given water for some time.

Following a 2021 trial in provincial court in St. John’s, Judge Jacqueline Brazil found Picco not guilty. She had concluded the Crown had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the beagles were suffering, despite the fact that she accepted an expert veterinarian pathologist’s evidence that the dogs were in “deplorable condition,” “emaciated,” “starving” and “near death.” Brazil said Picco was careless, but not reckless.

On appeal last year, Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court Judge Peter O’Flaherty upheld the acquittals, saying Brazil made no palpable and overriding error in her finding that the animals were not suffering, based on their overall health. 

However, in a decision released yesterday, a three-judge panel at the Newfoundland and Labrador Appeal Court disagreed and found several errors in both the trial judge’s decision to acquit Picco, and the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold it.

Justices Frances Knickle, Deborah Fry and Daniel Boone all agreed that the trial judge used the wrong analysis regarding suffering and recklessness, and also used the wrong legal principles to determine if the offences were committed.

They concluded that to accept that the animals were extremely emaciated, starving, in deplorable or grave condition and near death, but not suffering is wrong in reason, logic and in law. They agreed that Picco knew or should have known what would happen by not giving the dogs food and water.