Wednesday September 2, the full moon illuminates the countryside of southern Finistère, deeply dozing. In the pastures, the mist licks the tall grass where we can guess the silhouettes of the sleeping horses.
An apparent calm disturbed by a buzz. ? “The neighbors called me to tell me that a drone was over their house, relates Aurore (assumed name), owner of a horse boarding house. I went out with my daughter, who saw him. He patrolled, brushed the rooftops, he was really very low. “
For several nights, Aurore has only allowed herself a few hours of sleep, unevenly distributed. Supported by the owners of the horses for which it is responsible, it organizes watches and patrols around its paddocks.
She is far from the only one. Everyone equine is on alert after the multiplication of mutilations undergone by horses in recent weeks. In the viewfinder, those they call the “Barbarians”.
“Hyperanxious”
Several hours and several times a night, they follow one another to watch for every unusual movement, to listen to every suspicious noise. One eye on the horses, the other on the smartphone, where information is relayed in real time on social networks.
? “I immediately called the police for help. ” Five minutes later, the Anti-Crime Brigade (BAC) car arrives. ? “The police confirmed to me that they had been present every evening for several nights in the places where horses were listed. ” ?A helicopter of the gendarmerie is launched in the drone hunt. ?” It’s reassuring “, Aurora breathes.
Alerted, other horse owners supplement the workforce. On the way, they were stopped by a car from the Citizen Security Group 29, which emerged from a small communal road, all lights on. “Watchmen” who, on their own initiative, patrol at night, in search of possible mutilators of horses. ? “Earlier in the night, they had intercepted the ferry”, says one of the owners. Anxious riders who mobilize day and night to protect the horses. Some have pitched the tent in the middle of the pastures. Others have equipped the meadows with night vision hunting cameras.
Distant headlights between the trees interrupt the nocturnal exchanges. A small group plunges into the undergrowth, their senses on the alert.
The pressure is building
? “We’re afraid to go to bed, Aurore confides. We don’t know when they can come. We don’t know where they are. They can very well be hidden nearby and come out as soon as our backs are turned. It’s overwhelming. “
Concern but also anger is palpable in these horse lovers, shocked by the torture suffered by two horses in Bannalec (Finistère) on the night of Thursday 27 to Friday 28 August.
The organization of daily life is upset. Some horses were put in stalls, others were brought closer to the houses. Each night patrol starts with the ball in the stomach. ? “We check that the horses behave normally. If they are in bed, they are made to stand up to check that they have not been sedated. Yesterday, I was scared, mine was lying down full length and it took thirty seconds to wake up. “
A situation which, if it continues, could provoke disproportionate reactions from owners who admit that they are starting to run out of steam.
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