Two endless days of hearing. In the so-called “horror kennel” case, the trial of those responsible for this canine structure located in Wavrin, in the North, ended this Friday evening at the Lille Criminal Court.
In April 2022, the gendarmerie revealed on social networks that they had discovered, during a search, a center bathed in “deplorable hygienic conditions” with, among other things, the presence of rotten meat and a young frozen dog. , victim of a skull fracture. Very quickly, those responsible were prosecuted, in particular for “cruelty towards a domestic animal” and suspected of abuse of corporate property. The prosecutor requested prison sentences ranging from one year in prison to one year suspended for the five defendants.
Opening an investigation
Since 1987, the Les Louveteaux kennel, which became Les Louveteaux in short with the multiplication of structures (dog training and training center for canine agents, breeding, shelter), had prospered under the aegis of its founder Didier D.. The place was famous for training dogs for the army and law enforcement.
In 2021, reports of animal abuse alerted a police officer from Hallennes-les-Haubourdin. An investigation led to a vast search operation which revealed suspicions of illegal practices, both financial and towards the dogs collected in this structure (trafficking in identification chips, euthanasia without authorization, etc.).
Who did what ?
The trial made it possible to roughly define the responsibilities of each party in this case involving multiple offenses. No less than 23 for Didier D., the main defendant. The 59-year-old man was presented as the patriarch of a family which shared the various activities of this structure without the boundaries being perfectly established.
The definition of the exact roles of each person, moreover, came up against the fact that the father and his two sons, Yohan and Loïc, also on the dock, continued to reject responsibilities and deny most of the facts with which they were accused. Didier D.’s daughter-in-law, Clotilde P., was also prosecuted for the management of her breeding, as well as Frédérique J., former vice-president of the “Belgian Shepherds in Distress” association, suspected of having embezzled money by selling dogs to Didier D.
The sentences requested
In her indictment, the prosecutor requested a sentence of five years in prison (including four suspended) for Didier D., three years (including two suspended) for Yohan D. and three years (including two and a half years with suspended sentence) for Loïc D.. The two other defendants, Clotilde P. and Frédérique J., who were not prosecuted for “cruelty towards animals” risk a few months of suspended prison sentence.
A “ban on carrying out a professional or voluntary activity related to animals and on managing a commercial company” was also requested by the public prosecutor for the defendants.