Collateral victims of a divorce. Two dwarf crocodiles and a Cuvier caiman were collected Thursday morning by the Animal Protection Action (APA) association when their owner could no longer take care of them. “We were contacted at the end of 2020 by a woman who had several reptiles at home that she did not want to keep”, rewinds Anne-Claire Chauvancy, President of the APA. The woman is then in the process of divorce and her husband, who owns several reptiles, including the two crocodiles and the caiman, left the marital home of Etréchy (Essonne) to settle in another town.
Except that not having the necessary authorizations to welcome his exotic animals in his new home, he left them with his future ex-wife who no longer wishes to take care of them. This is why she alerted the APA association so that it takes charge of them. This could have been done quickly since the husband, well known in the world of exotic animals according to Anne-Claire Chauvancy, had finally recovered his snakes and lizards but did not wish to keep the two crocodiles, the caiman and a carnivorous snapping turtle, which he has held it for about twenty years.
Preliminary investigation opened last January
“But when he learned that an association had to take care of the four reptiles, he changed his mind and the state gave him a lot of time to obtain the reception authorizations”, notes, bitterly, the president of the APA. Because to be able to hold such animals, you need a certificate of capacity and an authorization to open an establishment capable of ensuring the well-being and safety of the reptiles. The file is dragging on and “in July we banged our fists on the table”, says Anne-Claire Chauvancy.
The Evry public prosecutor’s office, which in January 2022 opened a preliminary investigation, entrusted to the French Biodiversity Office, for unauthorized possession of protected species and irregular operation of an establishment holding animals of non-domestic species, takes a placement order for animals. The latter designates the APA to transport them to a center in Germany where they will be received. “There were zero places available in France”, explains the association.
The turtle had died
“But as the animals had no papers, it was necessary to make a regularization with a veterinarian and besides, there is still a crocodile whose origin we have not been able to trace”, indicates the president. On the spot the members of the association discover that the turtle, which lived in a rainwater collection tank, had died several months ago. “But no one noticed anything and they continued to give him meat which was decomposing at the bottom of the tank, there was a horrible smell of death”, recalls Anne-Claire Chauvancy.
Crocodiles, if alive, are no better off. “They lived in a closed garage, without natural light with a very small pool where they could not swim at all, and with an obsolete electrical installation, reports the president of the APA. Besides, the caiman was called Sac à main, which shows you the attention paid to animals. Finally on Thursday morning, the animals were put to sleep and then taken by a special transporter to a specialized site in Munich, Germany. “On site, we realized that one of the crocodiles had major problems with his hind legs that he has trouble moving,” says the president of the APA. About forty years old, the saurians can still live a long time, knowing that their life expectancy reaches 80-100 years in freedom.
The transfer operation, which cost around 5,000 euros, was entirely paid for by the association. “We intervene more and more often,” concludes Anne-Claire Chauvancy. There are a lot of exotic species kept in France. »