East Jutland Police have now filed charges against the Danish Nature Agency for violating the Animal Welfare Act in Mols Bjerge.
This is stated by the Danish Nature Agency on Tuesday in a press release.
In an inspection report from February, a veterinarian found that the condition of the cattle herd responsible for nature conservation in Mols Bjerge was highly criticizable.
According to the Danish Nature Agency Kronjylland, the purpose of nature conservation at Mols Bjerge National Park is to strike a balance “where there is as little feeding as possible for the sake of nature, while animal welfare must be in order”.
In the fall and winter, when the cold comes and the growth stops, the animals are supposed to eat what is available, such as blackberries and smaller trees.
But the winter of 2021 has been so harsh that the animals have had a hard time finding food. The board has previously said the animals have been “extremely hungry”.
– In 2021, we have unfortunately experienced slightly more deaths among the nature-caring animals than usual, where four cows and two bulls out of a total of 160 animals have died, and in addition there have been a number of abortions, wrote the Nature Agency Kronjylland in a press release in mid-March .
In addition to the charge of animal cruelty, the Danish Agency for Agriculture’s Ecological Control has carried out an unannounced inspection visit to the herd.
The preliminary conclusion is that the animals at that time had not been treated in accordance with the Animal Welfare Act.
– We take this case very seriously, and can only regret that it has happened, says director of the Danish Nature Agency in Tuesday’s press release.
– There should have been action earlier, so we had avoided that some of the animals in Mols Bjerge became so debilitated that they died or had to be killed. Of course, this kind of thing must not happen on state land.
The case has now led to extra supervision of the grazing animals in Mols Bjerge. The Danish Nature Agency will introduce veterinary inspections every month instead of every quarter until the case is decided.
In addition, the agency is in the process of investigating the details of the case, and assessing whether it should have consequences for some of the employees.