Niagara was not just any dog. She was a living being, a six-year-old German Shepherd, abandoned to an unimaginable degree. Emaciated, starving, surviving outside amidst misery, Niagara was found by the 30 Millions d’Amis Foundation in a catastrophic state on November 28, 2023, in Montigny-en-Gohelle, Pas-de-Calais: she was eating her own feces in a desperate attempt to survive… and yet, despite intensive care, she did not make it. Faced with such cruelty, one could hope that justice would strike hard. And yet… her former owner, who cannot be called a master but rather a vile abuser, received… a €300 fine and a few thousand euros in damages. Yes, you read that correctly: €300, while the Penal Code provides, for such acts, up to 5 years in prison and €75,000 fine when the animal dies as a result of severe abuse. ⚠️ According to Article 521-1 of the Penal Code:
"Whether publicly or not, inflicting serious abuse or committing an act of cruelty against a domestic animal […] is punishable by three years of imprisonment and a €45,000 fine. […] When the acts result in the death of the animal, the penalties increase to five years of imprisonment and a €75,000 fine."
Yet Niagara received only crumbs of justice. A derisory punishment that sends a troubling signal: the life of an animal apparently counts for nothing in the eyes of some courts. The 30 Millions d’Amis Foundation rightly emphasizes that such odious acts must be severely punished to deter abusers. But as long as symbolic penalties like the one given in Niagara’s case continue to exist, animals will remain silent victims of a too-lenient justice system. We must demand truly deterrent penalties, especially when owners themselves become abusers. Every dog, every cat, every abandoned animal deserves more than a few hundred euros: they deserve real justice and protection. Niagara is no longer here to tell her story, but we humans must make her voice heard so that no living being ever suffers such horror with impunity again.
SOURCE/PHOTO: 30 Millions d’Amis Foundation