A few days ago, Lukasz received a call from a journalist saying that he had been able to recognise dramatic animal suffering via drone footage and that there appeared to be imminent danger.

Lukasz immediately contacts the official vet and the local authority. This farmer’s cattle farming is well known, has been on record for three years and has already been reported to the court. But the wheels of justice grind slowly and then … what to do with the animals?

When Lukasz is on site with the public health officer, he shudders in horror. He calls us and emphasises that he has already seen a lot of misery, but this is a true animal tragedy:

Two dead cattle, ropes attached to their limbs bear witness to the farmer’s brutal assault to force a stuck animal to stand up with the tractor. There are also dead goats in the barn and on the estate – there is a fireplace where the farmer has burnt the animals and there are still remains of the carcasses.

A cow is stuck in the mud and can no longer get up on her own – she has broken hind limbs – the farmer had tried to pull her out of the mud with the tractor and broke her limbs in the process – ropes bear witness to this cruel act – she has been lying in the mud for days in the cold, she no longer has the strength to lift her head. She has suffered terrible agony.

The public health officer releases her from her cruel suffering.

That evening, Peter (Janovich) sets off for MEMENTO – a journey of over 700 kilometres – to be there with Lukasz the next day.

There they meet the official vet and a large contingent of firefighters, police, criminal investigation department and press.

On the entire estate, they counted 27 surviving cattle, a mother goat with her young kid, whose sibling had already died, and 3 pigs feeding on dead chickens.

Lukasz with the mother goat and her surviving few-day-old kid.

Lukasz negotiates with the mayor, the public health officer and the police – all three decision-makers emphasise that if Pro Animale agrees to take over ALL the animals, they will be confiscated IMMEDIATELY and a transport organised as quickly as possible at the expense of the municipality.

Without our commitment, the animals would remain there for many more months until the final court decision and be left to die. The municipality has neither a contract with other farmers for such cases, nor the financial means to board the animals after confiscation until the judgement has been passed.

Lukasz calls us: Can we face this huge additional financial burden, do we have accommodation options at Delicia Natural, can we take on the responsibility for another 27(!) cattle?

Here, dear friends of Pro Animale, is just a glimpse of the tragedy: