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In Étréchy, a Parisian suburb, two crocodiles and a caiman were found in the basement of a suburban dwelling. Held for more than twenty years, the animals have been cared for by the Action Protection Animale association. Brut witnessed their release.
“We intervene at the request of justice, it is the public prosecutor’s office of Évry who entrusted the animals to us, because they were detained in intolerable conditions. The animals were, you could say, in a small plastic tub, there was no natural light…”
According to Arnauld Lhomm, head of investigations for Action Protection Animale, there would be “lots and lots of privately owned wild animals”. Today, it is in the cellar of a suburban residence that he finds 2 dwarf crocodiles and a caiman, in atrocious conditions. “It is not possible to see animals in these conditions for years. We have a lot of breaches of the environmental code: the animals are not microchipped, when they should be, we have a traceability that is totally unknown”, he explains.
In this cellar, there would have been about sixty exotic animals held in captivity, some of which are dangerous for humans. “These are species that can tear off an arm or something and imagine, all the neighbors around, they had this next to their homes.“Since then, an investigation has been opened to find out where these animals came from, including the 2 crocodiles that were part of the “list A” of the Washington Convention, a highly protected species. “One wonders how they could have landed here, are they trafficked or whatever. That’s why an investigation is open.”