(toskanews) – It could be said that even cats are not doing too well, in the same France where even former president Nicolas Sarkozy finds himself on probation, after prison and in the midst of a legal case full of unknowns. Cats in fact, or rather a cat: Remi, who in these images we see yawning harmlessly like any feline.
“He goes this way, along the garden wall to the roses, and then jumps,” says Dominique Valdes, his owner. Some would say life like a cat, but no. A French court ordered the woman to keep her cat indoors after a neighbor complained that the animal kept jumping into her garden. In short, probation for him too and damages too.
“The Beziers court sentenced me for the first time to pay 1,250 euros, including 450 euros in damages to my neighbor because my cat allegedly prevents him from enjoying his garden, plus 800 euros in legal costs,” says Mrs Valdes. He thought it would end there and didn’t appeal. And instead she was served a second summons.
Eventually animal rights groups raised the alarm: “I fear that this serious court ruling could set a precedent, which would mean that all cat owners would have to keep their cats on a leash so that they don’t wander near their neighbors.” Anne Benezech, director of the Society for the Protection of Animals of Montpellier, says so.
Sure, it would be a really bad ending for Remi and cats like him, but never underestimate the enigmatic and independent nature of cats. Because as author (and owner of two cats) Sarah Thompson once said: “A cat sees no good reason to obey another animal, even if it walks on two legs.”
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