After two investigations in the area, the animal protection association One Voice intervenes and lodges a complaint.
The national association One Voice (acting for animal rights) filed a complaint on February 1 with the public prosecutor of Lot-et-Garonne for facts it presents as the mistreatment of a dozen dogs locked in an enclosure on the border of Lusignant-Petit and Madaillan. The association also wrote a letter – condemning what it observed and documented – to the departmental directorate for the protection of populations (competent in matters of animal health protection).
Overturned bowls, pieces of bone among the excrement, etc.
“We were asked by sympathizers,” says Jessica Lefèvre-Grave (One Voice), to go and see what happened in a forest located between Lusignan-Petit and Madaillan. We do not communicate about these sympathizers because we protect whistleblowers. But we went twice to confirm their statements, once in early December and the other on the weekend of 28-29. January. And the overwhelming result is the same for these two visits…”
What the association found was the presence in a forest of a dozen dogs, left to their own devices, locked in an enclosure. “Our investigators,” adds the volunteer, “discovered, in the bend of a wooded path, a sheet-metal building, all the most mundane in appearance, except that a dozen dogs are there. maintained without supervision. This dilapidated place, with tools and objects of all kinds thrown here and there, plastic bags, concrete blocks, boards, wires, have a hard and uneven ground, strewn with excrement, between beaten earth and pebbles… And in the middle of these boxes made of unevenness , at the mercy of the cold and the wind at the moment, but also the suffocating spring air, half a dozen dogs calling for help.”
A video taken on the spot
Faeces are strewn on the ground, also pieces of bone, some still have meat around them, suggesting the connection between animal parts thrown to the dogs as food. One Voice produced a video, sent to the press, illustrating the reason for his complaint of mistreatment.
Animals aiming in a slum.
“The rules are clear, add animal rights activists. In addition to 9 dogs, several enclosures are required. The kennel must also be labeled, which is stipulated in articles R514-4 and R511-9 of the environmental code. And of course, you must provide care. But here is this enclosure deliberately discreet, even hidden. Probably not to disturb the neighborhood, and perhaps to hide the abuse. We do not know if these dogs belong to a hunter or a breeder, but if it is a professional breeder, then the punishment is more severe.”
They would be a dozen dogs.
Why mention a hunter? “We’re not sure, so we’re staying cautious. But they’re hunting dogs, a common breed of dog. And some are equipped with GPS collars.” And the association adds: “Although nothing distinguishes them from other dogs in terms of legislation, hunting dogs are seen as tools by their operators and as a collective, not as individuals. Only the pack counts. The interest of hunters is that they spare no effort, is not frightened by shots and obeys the finger and the eye. Many hunters deny the facts of abuse that we document. They claim that they are not such that they love their dogs and treat them well, with many photographs on social networks. But where are they , when we defend dogs if they love them so much?”
The association (which has taken pictures and videos) hopes that a quick check will be carried out by the veterinary service and that these dogs will then benefit from a dignified welcome.
