Danish authorities have found the bodies of 50 horses buried at a major stud farm in Jutland, in the last of a series of inspections, after violent clashes between stud staff and protestors.
The Central and West Jutland Police, Viborg municipality and the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration finished their inspection of stud farm Viegård on Wednesday evening (23 August). The three authorities are “continuing to work on the case”, a police spokesman said.
“We have carried out a large and unannounced check today. Buildings and fields that the police know about, among other things through reports and inquiries from citizens, have now been thoroughly investigated,” said deputy police inspector Christian Toftemark.
The police spokesman said the authorities dug at “several places at different addresses” and that “approximately 50” horses were found buried.
“During the inspection, we found that there were buried horses. Permission for burial has neither been sought nor granted. It is illegal and a breach of the Environmental Protection Act,” said Hans Jørn Laursen, director of engineering and environment in Viborg municipality.
Flemming Kure Marker, head of veterinary medicine at the Danish Food and Drug Administration, added: “Parts of the excavated horses will also be sent for examination, where pathologists will try to determine whether the horses died as a result of starvation.”
Some 390 living horses were checked at the farm.
“During the inspection, the stud’s owner and employees cooperated with the authorities,” the police spokesman said. “The owner has also given his consent for the Central and Western Jutland Police to inform the public that the inspection of the live horses will result in a greater number of charges as a result of irresponsible treatment of horses, but that no horses have been found where the conditions can [be] categorised as grossly irresponsible or mistreatment.”
On 9 August, the police force said it was increasing its presence in the area of the stud, after “several confrontations between employees at a stud farm in the Viborg area and other citizens who stay in the immediate vicinity of the stud farm to protest and demonstrate”.
“We are now working with several cases of violence as well as other violations that relate to the attention that the stud has received over the summer,” Mr Toftemark said at the time.
“It has gone too far, both when legitimate protesters are physically confronted by stud employees during demonstrations, as well as when citizens outside the stud block the roads for stud employees to inspect cars entering and exiting different addresses.”
By 9 August, authorities had made six unannounced visits to the stud this year, resulting in “four charges, which contain a total of 35 conditions for, among other things, violations of the Animal Welfare Act”, police said.
“The charges are not in the nature of neglect or mistreatment,” the spokesman said at the time. “Therefore, they also do not have a character where sanctions such as removing the horses or appointing a manager could come into question. The stud farm has provisionally complied with the orders that have been given.”
H&H has approached the stud for comment.
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