2023-12-20 20:20:00
The Walloon Brabant public prosecutor’s office had issued a search warrant and deprived the owner of her liberty at around 10 a.m. On site, numerous vans and trailers were parked along the road all day for this rescue operation which was not supposed to end until nightfall. The head of the Orne-Thyle police zone, Sylvie Delvaux, 12 police officers, and 5 veterinarians were on site to supervise operations from 9:30 a.m.
The video that ignites the powder
The situation in this vast property was known to many neighbors who suffer from the inconvenience on a daily basis. But it was ultimately a video, shot from outside the property, that sparked the commotion. This video, which went “viral” among local residents, reached the mayor. We see the images, difficult to bear, of a donkey on the ground, surrounded by a pack of dogs, bitten on all sides and bloodless, incapable of defending itself.
“We noticed, regarding a fortnight ago, that donkeys and horses no longer got along well together. There was no more control of the animals on the ground… I think the owner was overwhelmed by their number,” explains the mayor, Thierry Champagne, adding that he had contacted the police and the services of the king’s prosecutor. Nivelles, as well as the competent services in the Walloon Region, to put an end to this situation as quickly as possible. The prosecutor therefore placed the file in the hands of an investigating judge, who coordinated the evacuation operations with the help of numerous partners of the association and volunteers.
Caution, these images may disturb :
Marion Leclercq, spokesperson for the Animals in Peril association, manages three shelters for farm animals and equines: “We had been preparing the intervention for several days with our volunteers and our caregivers. Nearly a hundred dogs lived almost in the wild and were unapproachable. Moreover, several people from our non-profit organization have been victims of bites. Other animals had to be sedated so they might be captured.”
Several backgrounds
The countess has already been talked regarding several times in the courtrooms and the media. Her “immoderate love” for animals (sheep, dogs, horses, donkeys, etc.) has already led her several times to the dock of the criminal court of Walloon Brabant. Each time, in her defense, the person concerned maintains that most of the animals do not belong to her, that their owners entrust them to her, that she keeps them on a voluntary basis and that some never come back to collect them…
The last time she found herself in court, it was no longer for animal abuse but for that of a human. She received a one-year suspended prison sentence for the treatment inflicted on her handyman. It was in October 2022. Decision once morest which she appealed.
“She has never been banned from keeping animals”
The first court decision once morest the owner of the premises dates back more than ten years already. But the king’s prosecutor Marc Rézette remains cautious: “In 2012, this person benefited from a suspension of the sentence. In 2015, a decision was rendered but it is still pending before the Court of Appeal in Brussels. Finally, in 2022, she benefited from an acquittal in a case of illegal possession of ponies. So, this person has never been banned from keeping animals.”
And the prosecutor clarifies: “The legislation changed in 2022. Animal welfare is today the responsibility of the Region. This means that the forfeiture of the animal keeping license is much easier to enforce”.
Given that the public prosecutor’s office has been seized of the case, the decision and the possible sanction which will follow will necessarily pass by the criminal court of Walloon Brabant. “The position of the prosecution will certainly be to aim for this ban,” added the prosecutor.
“It’s time to put this person out of harm’s way”
Jean-Marc Montegnies, president of Animals in Peril, does not beat around the bush: “It is high time to put this person out of harm’s way for good, an incredible number of animals have already suffered too much… ”
The place is well known to members of the non-profit organization. In 2011 and 2013, 200 dogs were seized there. In other periods, sheep and ponies had suffered the same fate.
“The recidivism is not a surprise. Despite several referrals to the criminal court, the owner has always been in total denial of her responsibilities, and has been for more than 10 years now. The question is asked: how is it that with such a pedigree in terms of animal abuse, and at a time when animal keeping permits are compulsory, this person is not yet subject to a ban on keeping animals?”
Nearly 200 animals seized: “Real carnage”
Active for more than fifteen years at the Sans Collier dog and cat shelter, Sébastien De Jonge, who will leave his position as director in a few days, claims to have never seen such a system. “It was real carnage there. There was feces everywhere. Dogs were killing each other or attacking equines. They are like savages. We rescued a female found at the bottom of a straw box, she was no longer moving and had a huge wound which was not treated. She was clearly in a state of trauma. Other dogs showed a lot of aggression and are not used to the presence of humans. Their care was complicated.”
“This is the first time that I have seen so many means deployed for a seizure. It must be said that there is the aspect of repeat offenses on the part of this owner. We relive the same situation every X time. the same thing every time: animals in pain, we wonder how long they have been in these open boxes, without moving, without care, without vaccines… We are clearly being mistreated.”
Sophie Locatelli, director of Le Rêve d’Aby, was also contacted this Wednesday. As her refuge focuses more on equines, she testifies to what she saw: “There were horses, ponies and donkeys. A donkey was also urgently evacuated, in critical condition, to the clinic. We tried to group together the hundred or so equines to put them in a shed and catch them more easily. But night already falls around 4:30 p.m. It is all the more complicated as dogs continued to attack equines”. Finally, lighting was installed on the property, in order to continue the mission during the evening.
“A dead donkey was under a tarpaulin. According to local residents, this is apparently the case quite regularly. Moreover, if we had not intervened this Wednesday, the toll would have been significantly higher. In a herd, there are dominants and dominated. Dominants are rather round and have problems with their feet and eyes. They are also not vaccinated. The dominated ones are extremely thin, especially among the donkeys.”
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