Heavily intoxicated men kill goats

Police were called to Oberwil on Monday night because two very drunk men were attracting negative attention. The police then found two dead goats.

At 3.30 am on early Monday morning, a resident in Oberwil alerted the police because two obviously very drunk men were causing a stir in the neighbourhood. "A patrol moved out and checked these men. In the course of this check, the police later came across two dead goats whose bellies had been slit open," confirmed police spokesman Frank Kleiner in response to an enquiry from the Zuger Zeitung newspaper. The crime scene is located near a small goat enclosure opposite the Mülimatt senior citizens' centre.

Two goats were killed on this pasture opposite the senior citizens' centre in Oberwil on Monday night. Only three goats graze there now               Photo: Reader reporter
The goat pasture is located on the meadow opposite the Mülimatt retirement centre.        Picture: Google

Frank Kleiner also confirmed that the two men found were heavily intoxicated and "are strongly suspected of having killed the goats. This is indicated by corresponding traces". The murder weapon was also recovered; it is a knife, regarding which no further details were provided. The men suspected of the offence are two asylum seekers aged 26 and 30. The police did not disclose which countries they come from or where they are staying.

It was probably not a ritual slaughter
Likewise, nothing concrete is currently known about a possible motive. On Monday morning, the two suspects were not yet in a fit state for questioning. Based on the evidence, however, it does not appear that ritual slaughter was explicitly in the foreground. The last time a sheep was slaughtered in the city of Zug was in October 2023; the perpetrators were unknown at the time.

The two suspects from Oberwil were at least still in police custody on Monday afternoon and were questioned about the offence. They face severe penalties for violating the Animal Welfare Act: "Anyone who intentionally kills animals in an agonising manner or out of wantonness must expect a prison sentence of up to three years or a fine", according to Chapter 5 of the Animal Welfare Act (Tierschutzgsetz).

The two goats that were killed, which belonged to a private owner, were brought to the carcass centre in Walchwil on Monday morning. Three goats are now still grazing in the small enclosure.

In Oberwil, there was also a dead deer lying in a meadow on a farm not far from the scene of the crime on Monday morning. According to police spokesman Frank Kleiner, it is also being routinely investigated as to whether this could be connected to the case of the goats. During the course of the afternoon, however, the game warden in charge informed the police that it was assumed that the deer had died of natural causes (see separate report).