By
Bertrand Parent
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Every morning at 6 am is the same ritual. Corinne Wolf and her husband are kindly awakened by meow of Chancean adorable 8-year-old tabby cat who demands his breakfast. But this morning, August 5th, no unexpected awakening. Corinne is worried. Every evening Chance walks around the house in Pluméliau-Bieuzy, but always ends up returning home and is never late for croquettes mornings.
“She came home in the evening around 9pm and I saw straight away that she had one question“, Corinne recalls. The cat runs into her basket and cry. Sure enough, his right hind leg is bleeding. Worse, we see the bone of his tibia completely free of all meat. The first prediction made by the vet that the wolves will see is amputation. After cleaning the wound and starting to treat Chance, another scenario daylight. “In these cases, we look to see if the cat feels something at the end of its claws,” explains Dr. Mathieu Guévar, veterinarian at the Maillette clinic in Locminé. And if that’s the case, it’s because the ships are still working. “Chance might save his paw, though it will never be the same.”
The other one diagnosis of the two vets who saw Chance, this injury was unanimously caused by one trap. A “trap jaws“, what is prosaically called a wolf trap, or a collar which, by seizing the leg, causes it to necrotise.
A first complaint was dismissed
Equipped with a certificate from the vet, Corinne decides to carry complaint at the Baud gendarmerie. “But they didn’t want to take my complaint,” laments Corinne. They told me they would send one reporting at the town hall and that people had the right to set traps in their homes. »
But after doing some research, Corinne came across the article 521-1 of the Criminal Code who says otherwise (read box). She posts a picture of Chance’s injury and the text in question Facebook. A post shared many times and which has generated a lot of peopleemotion. It was finally thanks to the social network that another gendarme from Baud made contact with Corinne. Yes, her colleague was wrong and she will take his complaint. A complaint registered on 20 August regarding abuse serious or act of cruelty against a domestic animal.
An online prize pool
“I am the municipality’s representative, the gendarme entrusted to us, and above all specialized in animal protection. So I go exploring in the house. “What she did on Saturday 24 August was contacting the nearest neighbours, several of whom are agricultural. What is certain is that Chance did not released all alone. Caught in such a trap, cats can eventually tear off the paw, otherwise they die on the spot. Which means someone freed her. The one who set the trap or someone else? The investigation will have to decide that.
Imprisonment is punishable by three years in prison and a fine of €45,000
Since 1995, a European regulation has banned the use of the “leg trap that catches animals with a limb”. Unfortunately, many individuals continue to use these traps discreetly. To eliminate martens, foxes, coypus, species that can cause harm… With regularly dogs or cats falling victim to this practice.
But this regulation did not mean a total ban on fox traps. Other legal mechanisms are very similar and just as dangerous. The difference lies in their release: their jaws close when a bait is removed (an egg for marten, meat for foxes, a carrot for coypus), the animals are therefore not taken by a limb, but through the neck or at the level of the spine. These traps are supposed to kill instantly and be selective only for the target species. But a piece of meat does not attract just one species of animal, and cats and dogs regularly fall victim to these perfectly legal traps.
In Chance’s case, it’s no doubt a jaw-dropping one, given the deep injuries she sustained. Finally, let us recall that the Penal Code punishes “the fact, publicly or not, of exercising serious ill-treatment or committing a cruel act against a domestic animal, or taming or keeping it in captivity, is punishable by three years’ imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euros.
With all the care already given to Chance, the bill already amounts to more than 700 euros. And could get heavier. Now Dr. Guévar, who sees “at least once a year” this type damagetakes care of Chance every week. “We clean, we try to get any infection out and we redo the dressing with lots of cream antibiotic so the tissues regenerate and fill the dead space. » At best, it will be enough. But the vet is considering the possibility graft of skin to consolidate the paw.
In short, it is sacred budget for this retired couple. “It’s difficult, we have rent. We asked to pay in several installments. But if I also file a complaint, it is primarily so that it does not happen again.”
Following the advice of her daughter, Corinne decided to create one jackpot online to help them pay for all their care.
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