Ten tigers were seized on Wednesday by the courts in the cage truck of a trainer installed near Beauvais (Oise), as part of an investigation opened in particular for "
mistreatment
" of animals, we learned to the prosecution.
This preliminary investigation was opened "
following a complaint from the One Voice association relating to facts of animal abuse, relating in particular to the unsuitable conditions of detention and care of animals,
" the public prosecutor told AFP. de Beauvais, Caroline Tharot.
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Entrusted to the French Biodiversity Office (OFB), the investigation was opened among other things for "
ill-treatment of an animal placed in its care by the operator of an establishment keeping animals
", an offense punishable by year of imprisonment and a fine of 15,000 euros, she said.
"
The findings made this summer by the OFB made it possible to highlight various elements in favor of the
aforementioned
offense
"
but also violations of the environmental code (...) the defendant engaged in particular activity breeding and transfer of wild animals held in captivity without respecting the legislation
”, added the prosecutor.
The ten tigers seized were "
entrusted to an association and taken to another department
”.
Before going to court, the NGO One Voice had itself "
monitored
" and "
filmed
" the tigers for several months, revealing the case in a series of videos published in January on a dedicated site.
“
Between the four walls of an abandoned factory in Picardy
”, the tigers “
were locked up all year round in a cage truck, without any real protection against the weather, with barely enough room to go around in circles
”, ie “
2 m2 each for 300 kg of body mass
”, the association wrote on this site in particular.
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"
The rare times they come out, it was to be submissive and undergo a life of stress, under the threat of the whip
", "
shown
" in fairs, circus shows or in an amusement park. close, even in "
clips or photos in magazines
", according to the association.
“
Our campaign to save them finally resulted in their seizure!
", Welcomes One Voice on Wednesday evening in a statement, assuring to have been"
entrusted
"
with
the care and transport of animals, initially to the"
Tonga Terre d'Accueil
"
refuge
in the Loire, then to a"
sanctuary
”in Italy.