A residential hill, an apparently normal villa and, behind the walls, the hell of promiscuity and dirt. The Enpa animal guards, the inspection staff of the Imperiese ASL1, the Local Police, the Forestry Carabinieri and the specialists of the Cites Unit found themselves faced with an impressive scenario on the heights of Sanremo. An immense horror zoo, submerged by piles of waste and crushed by precarious hygienic conditions.
What began as an inspection based on a private report turned into the largest animal seizure ever recorded in the Imperia area and Liguria. The census and clearance operations, coordinated by the Imperia Prosecutor’s Office, required hours of uninterrupted efforts to map a situation that was totally out of control.
@ENPA
The tragic census of compulsive accumulation
The official numbers emerging from the inspections are shocking and far exceed the initial estimates of two hundred specimens. The provisional balance sheet of ASL1 includes 460 animals. 65 cats, 29 dogs, around 70 guinea pigs, 53 rabbits and 87 heads of poultry were forced to cohabit inside and outside the property. Added to these are 102 sheep and goats free to roam, along with a parade of exotic and ornamental fauna: two macaw parrots, a cockatoo, a parakeet, ten diamondback finches, two ornamental quails, seven cockatiels, ten budgies, five parakeets, a pheasant, seven tortoises and eight freshwater turtles. Domestic, farm and wild species shared the exact same spaces, completely ignoring the specific ethological needs of each race.
A woman accused of keeping animals in conditions incompatible with their nature
At the center of the judicial investigation is the owner of the property, a sixty-year-old professor who managed the structure together with her husband. The woman, known in the neighborhood for her historic dedication to rescuing creatures in difficulty, has slipped into a serious and pathological form of animal hoarding (compulsive hoarding). The original desire to save animals from a cruel fate ended up crushing it, turning into a logistical and health nightmare.
During the excited phases of the judicial seizure, the woman suffered a sudden illness. The public prosecutor formalized the crime hypothesis according to article 727 of the penal code, which punishes the detention of animals in conditions incompatible with their nature and producing serious suffering.
The rescue network: where the creatures will end up
The transfer of such a multitude of creatures activated a complex logistical machine on the Ligurian territory. The absolute priority was immediate safety and relocation to suitable oases. As for the canids, 18 dogs (mostly of the Shih Tzu breed) found hospitality at the Pluto’s kennel in Sanremo, while the remaining 11 dogs and all 65 cats were taken in directly in the local Enpa section.
The management of exotic and wild specimens, which is decidedly more complex, was resolved thanks to the intervention of the Zollamania Wildlife Oasis Garden in Bussana, which opened its doors to welcome birds and reptiles. For the over one hundred sheep and farmyard animals, targeted transfers are underway to suitable facilities in the province.
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