Our investigators met Aria as soon as they arrived at Arche de Noël at the end of October 2022. At the moment that they got them out of the kennel to take them for a walk - the only moment of freedom that some of the animals here experience, less than ten minutes per day, when they are lucky enough to be chosen - they immediately showed their hand. “She is stupid around other dogs”.
Shut up as they are all the time with no enrichment or toys, no affection, piled up on top of each other, is it surprising that the dogs end up developing behavioural issues? This ‘rescue centre’ is usually limited to 49 adult dogs, yet we counted up to 78 of them!
Dangerous overpopulation for the animals
Everyone knew that Aria did not get along with the other dogs and yet nothing was implemented to help her. They continued to enclose her with the others, and she continued to fight. As if this situation was not dramatic enough, she was also a victim of violence from the boss. When she was finally isolated from her companions, in reality she was shut up in a storage kennel, among crates and all kinds of other objects.
On several occasions and without those responsible reacting to the seriousness of the situation, Aria attacked other dogs and she was placed in solitary confinement as a punishment - even though this is what she needed for her well-being, and what was necessary to ensure the safety of the other dogs.
Slaughtered because no one wanted to help her
Then one morning, when arriving at the site, Aria was unaccounted for. She was no longer in her kennel. We learnt that she has been ‘euthanised’ out of pure convenience, after having been beaten and isolated for weeks. A behaviourist or trainer had never been contacted to come and help her and alleviate her unease. For the manager, she was nothing but a financial money pit, a dog you could not do anything for. What good would it do to spend money on helping her? Aria did not present a danger to humans and even sought out their affection. Her only ‘wrongdoing’: being apprehensive of her canine companions. But how can she be blamed for having expressed her distress in the only way that she had been taught to - violence?
In a situation of generalised abuse, where dogs are exploited for breeding and birds are enclosed for the personal pleasure of the boss in catastrophic health conditions, there is no time to lose or money to be wasted for those who need help.
One Voice is filing a complaint against the owner in order to put an end to these animals’ ordeals. Sign our petition to ask for the closure of this breeding farm.
To find out more about Arche de Noël
- Arche de Noël: a factory-breeding farm camouflaged by deceptively being called a ‘rescue centre’
- Arche de Noël: an adoption process that is unbelievable… and totally illegal
- Arche de Noël: a museum of horrors for ‘exotic’ birds
- Arche de Noël: children subjected to the spectacle of animal abuse
- Arche de Noël: puppies sacrificed so as to not spend money
Translated from the French by Joely Justice
Comments 1
Jane Marshall | Tuesday 21 November 2023