Near Toulouse, a seriously injured and suffering mare saved by a shelter
Through Melina Le Corre
Published on
This time the story ends with great sadness. During the month of January, a 500 kg mare was recovered between Castres and Mazamet by theassociation The 3 turkeysone of the only animal shelters farm in the region.
Seriously injured one of his paws by a barbed wire for more than a year, the observation is unequivocal. The association decides to take charge of “Sarrasin”, the little name given to this draft horse of a Breton breed. “We first approached the owner, in order to understand the context to better care for the animal and without judging”, specifies Lisa Fernandezone of the founders of 3 turkeys.
A supervised and step-by-step rescue
Rather rare fact, the owner, coming from the agricultural world, does not oppose this urgent intervention. ” He’s very nice. We feel that he is on the verge of breaking up, overtaken by events, even if that does not excuse the injury. But the owner is “ready for anything” and gives Mare to the association.
It’s at Toulouse Veterinary School that “Sarrasin” receives first aid. “For 48 hours, we contacted all the surgeons in France and even Equitom, a clinic in Belgium. Several possibilities are adapted so that the animal is comfortable after the operations and not in pain. »
A prosthesis ? Surgery to remove barbed wire? Lock the joint? Everything is studied closely with the Doctor Lallemand from the veterinary school, while the horse is in “fairly severe pain”.
A haven of peace in Tarn-et-Garonne
Created in 2019, the shelter was built thanks to Lisa, her mother and a friend at Honor-de-Cos. “Since I was little, we have been recovering abused animals with my mother. As we went along, we were asked a lot, especially on two big cases. Unfortunately, we had not been able to save them for lack of space and the animals died. That’s where we wanted to create a refuge,” says Toulouse-based Lisa Fernandez, one of the association’s founders.
Today, the association has 30 hectares of land, including “17 developed”. “We are now at one report per day and one rescue per week,” she says. The interventions are always supervised and sometimes accompanied by the gendarmes, “if the situation is blocked”. A “close collaboration even with the Toulouse prosecutor’s office”, which will set up an “animal abuse center”, signs for Lisa that “society feels concerned by what is happening. It is a great hope”, discovery- she.
A difficult decision
Despite all the solutions involved, euthanasia remains the only choice to be made to free the animal from pain. An action that is also part of… the rescue. “In 2020, we recovered 24 animals. Three weeks later, half died. Why ? Because the animals no longer fight for their survival when they are finally in comfort and that’s when they can develop kidney and liver failure, ”explains Lisa.
No complaints for mistreatment will be lodged against the owner. “He collapsed in my arms, he was there until the end and covered all the costs for the mare. He was in denial, we’re not going to overwhelm him any more. »
Nevertheless, he remains under Lisa’s watchful eye: “He has undertaken to put other of his animals in order. We looked at his attitude with the other horses, he has a strong bond with his animals. If the state of health deteriorates in their home, he will contact us, ”she assures. “Sometimes you have to know how to accompany people to put animal safety“.
However, complaints are (almost) the daily lot of this association. But this time the legal and sufficiently supervised procedure will not lead to such an act. Sarrasin will not finally join the 182 animals who were already treading the meadows of the refuge.
Follow all the news from your favorite cities and media by subscribing to My News.