This photo shocked. ©Animals in Danger
This Wednesday, August 28, the owner of these equines gives her version of the facts. Sandrine Moné, the operator of the Ranch Dolez, on the avenue of the same name, now lives separated from her ponies Pirate, Cow-Boy and Clochette, her horse Ishtar and her donkey Aneth. “I was massacred, even though I did not abandon them,” the Uccle resident defends herself. “The day of the seizure, 6 volunteers rushed to stop it. It was too late.” She continues: “On the legs, the red color is not blood: it is disinfectant: Iso-Betadine. Moreover, you can see the scabs that were healing.”
PHOTOS | Five seriously neglected equines seized in Uccle: a donkey found with legs dripping with blood and pus
The horse Ishtar, the pony Pirate and the donkey Aneth from the Ranch Dolez in Uccle, were seized. ©Ranch Dolez
A WhatsApp group
The woman who took over this small ranch on Rue Dolez “4 years ago” rewinds: “I went on holiday. 4 weeks in Spain. I then gathered 15 people in a WhatsApp group who were ready to feed the animals and clean the boxes. I even sent several videos to explain everything well”. But the vagaries of the weather worsened an infection suffered by the donkey. “After 10 days, she suffered an allergy attack following the bites of anthrax flies, given the episodes of rain and heat”. This allergy was known to Sandrine: according to her, Aneth is even entitled from time to time to real “poultices of clay and essential oils”, up to the withers or almost, to protect her from infections caused by insects. “My friends warned me and I contacted the vet. Since mine was on vacation, I went to a clinic. A vet came to the ranch 2 days later, provided treatment and I paid for the antibiotics remotely.” The caregiver also gave her an update on the condition of the other animals on the ranch: “according to her, everything was OK.” Crucial testimony: “when I mentioned the seizure to her a few days later, she was shocked.”
guillement
I asked a nurse I know, who is not a veterinarian, to come and shower the donkey’s legs and disinfect the wounds. I also suggest putting protective pants on the animal.
After a week, the situation got complicated again for Sandrine, still in Spain. “My WhatsApp group told me that the situation was not improving. I knew that antibiotics needed time to work, but I still took matters into my own hands”. That’s when the owner of the horses made what she described as “a mistake”: “I contacted a nurse, a non-veterinarian, who had offered to help me but whose help I had initially refused since I had enough hands. Since she was a nurse, I asked her if she could come and shower the donkey’s legs and disinfect the wounds. I also suggested that the group put protective pants on the animal, which was not done”. Throughout, the Uccle native assured us that she had written proof of these steps. “And suddenly, very ugly photos were posted on the group. I then decided to return urgently”.
Saved from the knife
But the car journey is long for this mother of two children from the south of Europe. “I had to do at least one stop. So I contacted the vet again but she herself had gone on holiday in the meantime”. So a third specialist was dispatched. “The nurse I know made an appointment with her to open the ranch for her”. This was done on Tuesday 20 August and resulted in the seizure of the 5 horses. “The vet called me and put me through to a police officer, who explained to me what I was being accused of”. That is to say lack of care, lack of food, lack of water. “However, there was still food on site, carrots, water in the 3 1,000 litre tanks”. Another criticism: hooves that were too long. “I have proof that the farrier had been there on 8 or 9 July”, Sandrine defends herself again.
The ponies Cow-Boy and Clochette with Sandrine Mané, from the Ranch Dolez in Uccle: the operator denies any negligence towards her horses and assures that she does not do business with them, nor does she have them ridden by children. ©Ranch Dolez
Who explains: “Apart from my horse who has been with me since I was little, I took in the other animals to save them from the knife. They are between 20 and 25 years old: they are grandpas and grandmas who end their lives on the ranch rather than at the slaughterhouse. I have been housing them for 2 or 3 years. They have never been ridden, as the associations claim: they accompany families and schools on walks in the Kauwberg. I am a sanctuary: Cowboy, when he arrived, was a pile of bones. Now, he is as round as an apple. And I do not do any business with it: the visits are free, I have a piggy bank for donations, which can be made in food, bags of carrots. Moreover, the food is partly provided by the Frigo Solidaire, which gives me wilted apples and soft biscuits”.
“Injustice horrible”
In what she describes as “a horrible injustice”, Sandrine Moné acknowledges this: “I probably shouldn’t have left for 4 weeks. And it’s true that the WhatsApp group may have been overwhelmed by the care that needed to be given. I should have left it to qualified professionals. But in the end, I acted a bit like someone who would ask their friends to look after their cat: they can also do stupid things to the animal”. And she asserts: “I know that there are sometimes abusive seizures”.
guillement
I probably shouldn’t have left for 4 weeks. And I should have left it to qualified professionals.
Given the police intervention, it is now up to the Brussels public prosecutor’s office to decide whether or not to prosecute for animal abuse. The risk: heavy fines, or even imprisonment for up to 3 years. If not, Brussels Environment can impose sanctions. According to the competent regional authority, which is not yet aware of the fine, this sanction can range from a fine of €50 to €62,500, or even €100,000 in the event of a repeat offence. It is also Brussels Environment that will decide on restitution, “on the basis of the fine and after a veterinary inspection” to verify that the shortcomings, if any, have been resolved.
On the ranch friends’ side, a support action is announced for next weekend.
The Ranch Dolez, on the edge of Kauwberg in Uccle, hosts schools and workshops, and organizes walks. ©GSV
