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On April 30, 2026, four young men (aged between 16 and 25) killed the cat "Schmotzer" in Brixen im Thale (Tyrol), Austria. Schmotzer was a 5-year-old orange and white cat who had no owner, but was said to have been very lovingly cared for. Those involved filmed the horrific act with a mobile phone. One of the defendants, who was training to be a butcher, used a captive-bolt pistol on the cat. The animal was then killed with a knife slash and beaten with a shovel, among other things. The video showed and audio captured the men laughing at Schmotzer's suffering. The video was uploaded and shared, quickly going viral. In May 2026, it caused public outrage followed by massive protests. The public prosecutor's office charged the four men with animal cruelty pursuant to Section 222 of the Austrian Criminal Code (StGB). In court, however, the men claimed they had no malicious intent, stating they had merely found the cat severely injured by the roadside. They claimed their only intention was to "put Schmotzer out of its misery." A veterinary expert report was commissioned. After inspecting the video, the following finding was made: Schmotzer twitched after the captive-bolt shot, but the expert explained that these could have been spinal cord muscle spasms, and consequently, it could not be legally proven beyond a reasonable doubt whether the cat still felt pain after the captive-bolt shot. In the video, it looked like a desperate struggle for survival. On August 4, 2026, the Regional Court of Innsbruck acquitted all four defendants of the charge of animal cruelty. The offense of animal cruelty requires intent to torment (malicious cruelty). Since the court could not disprove the defendants' claim that they acted with the (subjective) good intention of "delivering" the animal, the principle of in dubio pro reo (benefit of the doubt) applied. The public prosecutor present waived her right to legal remedies right there in the courtroom. This meant that the criminal verdict was legally binding immediately and could no longer be appealed. The perpetrators were thus acquitted. In September 2026, the Chamber of Veterinary Surgeons called upon the Office of the Prosecutor General to file a plea of nullity for the preservation of the law in order to have the verdict reviewed. However, at the end of September 2026, the Prosecutor General's Office rejected this, seeing no grounds for appeal. Even though the men are free from criminal liability, the Kitzbühel district authority initiated administrative penalty proceedings in August 2026 for violating the Animal Welfare Act (Section 6 TSchG – prohibition of killing without a reasonable cause). This could result in fines of up to 7,500 euros for those involved. Rumors of a second video are circulating on social media, allegedly showing that the cat ran towards the four men uninjured. Star lawyer Sascha Flatz is advocating for cat Schmotzer and demanding stricter penalties in animal cruelty cases. While the incident went viral, hate speech and hostility were directed against the perpetrators, the defense attorney, the judge, and the region.