The serious case of animal abuse in Merelbeke will not remain without consequences. A father filmed how his children abused a sheep to death. A judicial investigation has now been launched following a complaint from Gaia.
Wednesday May 8, 2024 at 7:20 PM
The East Flanders public prosecutor’s office confirms to our editors that animal rights organization Gaia filed a civil complaint with the investigating judge in Ghent on Tuesday, after images circulated of serious abuse of a sheep. An investigation will therefore be conducted by the investigating judge, it sounds.
The images that circulated on the internet – but have since been deleted – showed a man tying a sheep to a post with one leg. Then children started kicking a ball at the animal. Afterwards they shot the animal with pellets from their toy gun. The father filmed everything and seemed to encourage his children. The sheep was clearly panicking, screamed and at one point fell to the ground dead.
A man who saw the images on social media notified the police. “Officers from the Rhode and Schelde police zone went to the scene on Sunday, May 5, and drew up a report for violations of animal welfare regulations. This report will be added to the file in the judicial investigation,” says the spokesperson for the East Flanders public prosecutor’s office.