Gian Carl Bonnici, 21, of Zejtun today was fined €800 after he admitted to amputating the tail of his two dogs and failing to register his dog with the veterinary authorities, causing them unnecessary pain and suffering.

He was not found guilty of animal cruelty.

The charges which were brought against him included not having micro-chipped his four-month old dogs, and illegally carrying out surgical operations on two out of six puppies by amputating their tail.

The dogs were confiscated by the veterinary authorities.

The case came to light after volunteers of a Marsaxlokk dog sanctuary discovered an abandoned hunter's dog (which was malnourished) and six puppies under a shed in a field in February 2013. Two of the puppies were injured as a result of their tail having been removed which was evident from the inflammation surrounding the area of their tail.

Meanwhile, the dog's owner went to the police station to let them know that the dogs were his. But the dogs were not given back to him pending an investigation conducted by the sanctuary's volunteers.

The owner of the dogs told the court that he intended to micro-chip the animals. He said he had found the dog in December 2012 in Delimara roaming around and decided to keep it after nobody claimed that the dog was his or hers. He said that he then realised the dog was pregnant and kept its puppies as well.

He admitted that it was both him and his dad who amputated the tails of the two puppies.