The case in summary • Lisa Glad and her mother notified the Norwegian Food Safety Authority several times about the horse Tufsa, which was malnourished and neglected, but the Norwegian Food Safety Authority took no action.• Glad ended up persuading the owner to sell her the horse to save it.• Number of inspections from The Norwegian Food Safety Authority’s involvement in animal welfare has fallen by almost 80 per cent since 2015, which has led to criticism of the safety authority. controlled development to increase the quality of the inspections. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Lisa Marie Glad was on her way home when she happened to see Tufsa standing on the side of the road in Nordre Follo in Akershus. The horse looked malnourished and worn out. The mane was long and disheveled. The hooves were rotten. The legs and sides were covered in feces. – She had been alone for several years. It’s not good, says Glad today. This is how Tufsa looked right after Lisa Marie Glad bought her. Here she is in her new home. Tired, but happy. Photo: Lisa Marie Glad / Private – A cry for help Together with her mother Sølvi, Glad sent a notice to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority about the horse. But when nothing happened, they chose to seek out the owner themselves. He lived alone and was too ill to take care of the horse. When Glad went to greet Tufsa in the enclosure, she came running. – She put her head next to me and then we just stood there. I felt it was a cry for help, says Glad. She asked the owner if she could buy the horse. He didn’t want that. He said he was too fond of Tufsa to give her up. The mane was long, and the hooves rotten. Tufsa also had winter fur left in May. A sign that she had been inside far too much. Photo: Lisa Marie Glad / Privat Notified the Norwegian Food Safety Authority several times Lisa Glad and her mother again contacted the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. They replied that if it was urgent, they would have to contact the police. But when they notified the police, the answer was that this was a matter for the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, claims Glad. In total, Glad estimates that they contacted the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and the police around 20 times. When nothing was done, she took matters into her own hands. Glad finally persuaded the owner to sell her Tufsa. – I couldn’t just leave her there, she says. – I am quite frustrated with the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. We sent them pictures too. I think it’s pretty hopeless. More than 20 notifications must have been sent to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority by several people. – I am quite frustrated with the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, says Lisa Marie Glad. Photo: Håkon Benjaminsen / news In an e-mail to news, environmental crime coordinator in the East police district, Ann Elisabeth Svanberg, writes that the main responsibility lies with the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. – We collaborate both in the various matters, and on a more general level. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority holds the expertise in animal welfare. The police will not comment on the case directly, but have instead given a general answer which you can read here: Here is the full answer from the police: On a general basis, inquiries about animal welfare must be assessed against other ongoing assignments. What constitutes an emergency situation in animal welfare is difficult to assess. It is the case that what is experienced as urgent for some people does not have to be assessed as urgent for the police. Especially when the police have to assess several inquiries and assignments at the same time. In order for the police to be able to intervene in animal welfare cases, it depends on the report that comes in to the police. The scope of the message can, for example, be about the current situation, is the animal outside or confined, are there many animals? How long has this been going on? Visible damage, the type of damage, the extent of the negligence to name a few. It is the police operations center that makes such an assessment and prioritization based on the overall picture they have. As mentioned, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority has the expertise and is best suited to make assessments about animals and their welfare. Tufsa’s former owner has not responded to news’s inquiries. Supervision reduced by 80 per cent The Norwegian Food Safety Authority visits animal owners throughout the country every year to ensure that animal welfare is good. These visits are called inspections. However, the number of inspections related to animal welfare has fallen by almost 80 per cent since 2015. This is shown by figures from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. Several are very critical of how the Norwegian Food Safety Authority works with animal welfare. – Here I really have to praise the person who bought the horse free, says Åshild Roaldset, general manager of Animal Protection Norway. – We are notified of similar cases approximately every week. Tufsa was malnourished and worn out after being alone for a long time. Her hooves were long and had to be trimmed. Photo: Håkon Benjaminsen / news Roaldset believes the Norwegian Food Safety Authority is deprioritizing animal welfare. – The Norwegian Food Safety Authority does not have the capacity. There is usually no help available for individual animals who suffer. She gets support from Nina Skjelbred, who was head of the Animal Welfare Board in Vestfold until 20 June this year. The animal welfare boards are among those who must carry out inspections for the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. – Almost all reports of concern are dismissed, says Skjelbred. Skjelbred resigned her position in protest against what she believes to be critical priorities within the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. As head of the Animal Welfare Board in Vestfold, she was not on a single inspection in the last two years, she says. – The way I see it, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority breaks the law on animal welfare every day. This is serious, she says. – Do animals in need of help in Norway get the help they are entitled to? – Here I have to answer a resounding no. Absolutely not. – Almost all reports of concern are dismissed, says former head of the Animal Welfare Board in Vestfold, Nina Skjelbred. Photo: Nils Fridtjof Skumsvoll / news Food Safety Authority: Animal keeper is responsible The Food Safety Authority has a duty of confidentiality in private animal matters. Thus, they cannot comment on the history of Tufsa specifically. This is explained by Lise Rokkones, acting department director for regulations and control in an e-mail to news. – In general, we follow up on many reports of concern regarding private animal husbandry, Rokkones writes further. But it is the animal keeper who is responsible for the animals’ well-being, she emphasizes. About the decrease in the number of inspections, Rokkones writes: – We cannot check every single animal keeper at all times. – The decrease in the number of inspections is part of a controlled development throughout the Norwegian Food Safety Authority to increase the quality of our inspections, and to prioritize the serious cases. Things are getting better, but Tufsa is still weak. – We hope there is a future for her, says Lisa Marie Glad. Photo: Håkon Benjaminsen / news – Hope Tufsa has a future Lisa Marie Glad and her mother Sølvi had Tufsa transported to another farm in the area in June. There she was examined by a veterinarian. – She was very dehydrated and anemic. Everything was wrong, really, says Sølvi Glad. Now Tufsa is better off, says the daughter. – But we don’t know how her body is doing, says Glad. – We hope there is a future for her. Published 28/07/2024, at 16.59
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Lisa saved the horse Tufsa from neglect – Greater Oslo
