Three men were charged with particularly cruel treatment of an ostrich and violating domestic order. Two of them were placed under police supervision, and the third one, also suspected of possessing and selling drugs, was arrested.
On Wednesday afternoon, the PoznaĆ prosecutor's office completed the investigation of three men suspected of abusing an ostrich from an agritourism farm in BolechĂłwek.
– They were charged with particular cruelty and violating domestic peace by unlawfully entering the settlement where he was staying – said Ćukasz Wawrzyniak, spokesman for the District Prosecutor's Office in PoznaĆ.
– The two men have been placed under police supervision and are prohibited from contacting the other suspects and are prohibited from approaching the Trapper's Settlement. The prosecutor filed a request for a three-month arrest against the third person, who is additionally accused of possessing and selling drugs, the prosecutor added.
On Thursday afternoon, Wawrzyniak said that the court had arrested the man concerned by the application. The man pleaded not guilty to charges of abusing the ostrich.
Two of the three men gave explanations stating that on the day of the incident they took drugs and then, for unknown reasons, decided to take the ostrich from the pen. They could not rationally explain why they decided to do it and why they abused the animal. – At one point, the ostrich escaped from their pen and they decided to leave. The injured animal returned to the farm on its own after some time, said Wawrzyniak.
The prosecutor added that the suspects' behavior “was irrational and could have been related to drug use before and after the kidnapping of the ostrich.”
He disappeared and came back with numerous injuries
The ostrich disappeared from the pen on the night of January 10-11. – After arriving at the site, the officers found damage to the net surrounding the bird's enclosure. There was no ostrich in the enclosure or in the immediate vicinity. The police inspected the scene of the incident and collected the necessary information from the owner of the farm, said junior officer Anna KlĂłj from the PoznaĆ police press office.
On January 13, the animal's guardians informed the police that the ostrich could not be saved.
– In a conversation with the owner of the animal, the police determined that its condition in which it returned to the farm and its injuries could indicate the perpetrators' intentional actions. The police inspected the scene of the incident, inspected the animal's body with the participation of a veterinarian from the Provincial Veterinary Inspectorate and a forensic technician, the policewoman said.
The veterinarian's findings confirmed that the ostrich had injuries that indicate that violence may have been used against it.
A total of three people were detainedKMP PoznaĆ
Pursuant to the provisions of the Animal Protection Act, perpetrators of such an act, if they act with particular cruelty, may face imprisonment of up to five years.
Main photo source: KMP PoznaĆ