We are publicizing this case at the request of the Animal Assistance Association. For a long time, the organization had been receiving disturbing reports about the terrible conditions in which animals were kept on one of the properties in Włodzice Wielkie (Lwówek County). Residents of Bolesławiec reported that the property owner had been illegally trading in dogs and cats for many years (she was allegedly selling animals, among other places, at markets near Wesoła and Jeleniogórska streets).
At the beginning of July last year, three SPZ members went to Włodzice Wielkie. Pretending to be interested in buying a dog, they recorded a short video. “In the recording, the woman herself states that the four-legged animals she trades are infested with worms,” says Anna Ryżewska, head of the Association.
There were about 20 dogs on the property in July. A terrible stench hung in the air. According to the organization members’ accounts, the animals had neither water nor food. Their health was far from satisfactory. They had not been vaccinated, and some were severely emaciated.
SPZ notified the police. Several days after the first visit, the organization members, this time accompanied by a police officer from Kruszyn, visited the property in Włodzice Wielkie again. Neither the SPZ members nor the officer had any doubts at the time: the dog owner was violating the Animal Protection Act. She was grossly neglecting her dogs and abusing them.
The District Prosecutor’s Office in Lwówek Śląski took up the case. In December last year, prosecutor Wojciech Moneta discontinued the investigation. “The proceedings did not provide grounds for bringing charges against this woman,” Moneta explains. The investigators found no evidence of animal abuse.
“Several institutions have been dealing with this problem since July, but nothing has come of it,” Anna Ryżewska says regretfully. “I am surprised by the prosecutor’s decision, but I assure you that we will not leave this matter as it is.”
SPZ would like at least ten dogs from Włodzice Wielkie to be legally taken to a shelter in the Netherlands. “One of the statutory objectives of our organization is to ensure that municipal services respect animal rights,” the SPZ president continues. “The police and the prosecutor’s office should recognize how much remains to be done in this case.”
We will return to this subject.
(information ii)