Cattle farmer Jan Uineken in Dalen is doing everything he can to find out who is responsible for the death of five of his cows. An enthusiastic football supporter caused the animals of several residents of the sports park in Dalen to become completely stressed with his or her fireworks.
The incident took place on May 9 around the championship match of vv Dalen 3 on Saturday. “What happened that day made no sense at all,” says Uineken. “The blow was so hard, several people called the police.”
According to Uineken, the result was that animals fled from several meadows around the sports park. “My neighbors’ horses and cows broke out and my brother’s horses and their foals also broke through the fence. They were lucky with only some superficial injuries such as cuts and scratches.”
But the animals of Uineken themselves fared worse, he says. I had cows in the stable and they collided with each other in all their panic. Ultimately, I had to euthanize three cows and a calf. And I finally had an injured cow taken to the slaughterhouse.”
According to the farmer from Dalen, the incident is not an isolated incident. “Two years ago we also complained about fireworks at the football club and it happens much more often. I am completely fed up with it.”
Kristien Croezen is chairman of vv Dalen, she is very disappointed with the situation. “There seem to have been two fireworks that afternoon. I live relatively close to the sports park, but I didn’t hear the first time. I did hear the second bang, it was so loud, I immediately jumped on my bike and went to the sports park. At that moment, of course, there was nothing left to see of the fireworks. I am also very angry about this.”
According to the chairman, fireworks are prohibited around football fields, but this is a problem that many football clubs struggle with. “As an association, we absolutely do not want that and communicate about this with our members. We sometimes also write to the opposing party to ensure that their supporters do not bring fireworks with them.”
Yet on May 9, things went horribly wrong. “No one saw this coming,” says Croezen. “We are really disappointed about this, because this could have resulted in a huge fine for us as a club. It is actually a joint problem for us and the farmers, but the consequences are many times greater for the farmers. Our Saturday team is also very sick from it. This really puts a dampener on the championship party.”
In addition to the cows that are dead, dairy farmer Uineken is also dealing with other damage. “The stable was destroyed with such violence after that loud bang at the sports park. Sixty cows crashed completely through the stable. Drinking troughs are broken, fences are broken, the box partitions are all jagged and crooked and my milking robot is also damaged.”
In addition to this material damage, Uineken also speaks of milk loss because the cows now produce much less milk due to the stress. And he takes miscarriages or premature births into account in cows that have yet to calve. According to the cattle farmer, no one wants to tell him who set off the heavy fireworks.
According to chairman Croezen of vv Dalen, it is known who did this. In any case, she manages to report that it was not a member of her club. According to her, this also makes it difficult to intervene: “The sports park is public property, so we cannot prevent people from entering the site. The person who set off the fireworks is also not a member of our association, so you cannot impose sanctions in that way either. If he or she were a member, you could still suspend him or her, for example.”
In any case, Uineken has reported to the police. “They still have to record my report, which can only be done next week. And the police confirm this. A police spokesperson also said that several reports were received on May 9 about fireworks at the sports field on Dalerveensestraat.
“When we arrived on the scene it was quiet and no fireworks were being lit anymore. The local police officer talked to the reporters and other involved parties about the situation at a later time. The investigation is ongoing,” said the police spokesperson.
Kristien Croezen indicates that after May 9, especially on May 9, VV Dalen has made even greater efforts to raise awareness among members about the rules surrounding fireworks.
“We are looking at whether we can take additional measures, for example agreeing with teams that they will immediately leave the field if fireworks go off. And for the farmers, I think it is important that we stay in touch with them and that we as a club will certainly cooperate if, for example, they need a witness statement.”
In the meantime, Uineken has to wait and see what the insurance can do for him and what the police investigation will yield. “But I especially want to know who set off these fireworks. People need to know that, but no one wants to say who, that frustrates me. But I am going to find out,” Uineken says determinedly. According to him, according to an initial estimate, the damage runs into tens of thousands of euros.
