A talented Italian cyclist with big aspirations for the future has been fined for shooting his neighbour's cat with an air rifle.
Antonio Tiberi, aged 21, pleaded guilty to shooting the cat from near the window of his apartment and told a court that he had “had no intention of killing the animal,” according to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
The professional cyclist, who rides for Trek-Segafredo, was fined £3,509 by a court in San Marino, a popular home town for cyclists. Tiberi claimed that he had purchased the gun a week before the incident took place and claimed he was unaware of the rifle's power.
"My intent was simply to measure the firing capacity of the weapon, so much so that I targeted a prohibition sign," he reportedly told the court. "I also admit to having just as stupidly and unconsciously tried to hit a cat and to my surprise I actually hit it. I had no intention of killing the animal, in fact I was convinced that the weapon was not lethal."
Tiberi's neighbour and owner of the cat was Minister of Tourism and former head of state of San Marino, Federico Pedini Amati. The minister, who had adopted the cat, felt the fine of £3,509 was not enough to punish the cyclist who has lived in San Marino for almost a year.
"The cat did not bother anyone" added Amati. "It had been with us for a long time. My three-year-old daughter Lucia loved it. You can't kill a pet and get away with a €4,000 fine. I appreciated that the boy admitted the fact, having said that we do not need to give residence to these people."
The young Italian won gold as a junior in the individual time trial at the World Cycling Championships held at Harrogate in 2009. He was signed by World Tour team Trek-Segafredo three years later as part of their development programme.
The 21-year-old finished seventh overall at the recent UAE Tour and also impressed at the Tour Down Under in January.
In response Trek-Segafredo said that they were unaware of the incident and have suspended Tiberi for a minimum of 20 days without pay. The team said they would instead donate the Italian's pay to an 'appropriate animal care, protection and rescue organisation.
