Bony and Glasha have temporarily escaped the clutches of their keepers
Trois jours avant l'audience au tribunal d’Orléans, la préfecture du Loir-et-Cher décide du placement provisoire Bony et Glasha.
Three days before the hearing at the Orleans Administrative Court where we have demanded the presence of the Prefecture of Loir-et-Cher, they have now decided on the temporary placement of Bony and Glasha into alternative accommodation. It is a relief for these two bears, who’s very worrying state of health has finally been recognized. But they still remain the property of the Poliakovs and there is no a word about the other animals.
The
Prefect justifies the decision concerning the rehousing of these
bears following the veterinary report that we requested during our
appeal. The alarming observation attests to what we have been
claiming for more than two months: Glasha and Bony are permanently
suffering and are in a terrible state. Our experts were right. The
thickness near Glasha’s eye is a cancerous tumour and Bony, like
Glasha, is suffering from chronic dental pain. We have not been
fooled, the teeth of these bears just didn’t “disappear”
overnight, just as the tumours did not mysteriously appear on Micha,
in such a short time. The authorities knew their condition, since regular check-ups had taken place over the years and still after
these check-ups the authorities permitted the Poliakovs to continue
to exploit these poor bears in such appalling conditions.
The placement is not permanent
It
is not even a permanent placement or a ban on the exploitation of
these animals. On the contrary, if Bony and Glasha regain their
health, and if the Poliakovs show that they can financially support
their veterinary care and the bears minimal survival, then they can
return to their infamous jails. They can even replace the bears if
they like, since neither their certificate of capacity nor their
authorization to reopen their shows has been taken away from them. We
are not going to stop there !
Action for faults against the Prefect
Faced
with our indisputable images and the opinions of our independent
experts, and after the action of the Minister of Ecology, the
authorities have chosen to do the minimum. We therefore maintain our
requests, because if the trainers have shown their failure to ensure
the protection of animals, the Prefect has done so too: They are the
guarantor of their protection. We have therefore just filed a new
appeal against the Prefect for misconduct, and requested € 50,000
in damages.
We will not give up on the other animals
The
other animals must not remain in the hands of the Poliakovs, whom we
await the conviction for their acts of cruelty in the criminal part
of the file. A dromedary died a few weeks ago and it is impossible to
obtain an autopsy, when one is in the context of serious
ill-treatment. The body was immediately sent to the incineration
plant with the consent of the authorities. And no one mentions the
little monkey Mina, nor the horses, ponies and parrots that are
barely surviving on their property in no less severe conditions. We
will fight to the end for them.