A post on Facebook led to Linda Strand being reported to the police by the animal protection organization Noah. She had posted a picture of a mousetrap she had made, which she thought was effective. Noah thought this was illegal. The police investigated the case, and fined the woman NOK 6,000. But she did not accept this. That is why he had to appear in court. – I think I did what I could to save house and home, says Linda Strand. – Impossible to get rid of Linda Strand explains that the house she lived in was full of mice, and they tried everything possible to get rid of the problem. Photo: Solveig Nyhus Aksnes / news Linda Strand lives in a house that is over 400 years old. When they moved into the house it had been empty for a long time, and it was infested with mice, she explains. She tried everything possible. Mouse traps, poison, high-frequency sound to scare away mice. She also gets an extra cat to get rid of the problem. But nothing worked. – I used boots inside when it was at its worst, there were dead mice everywhere, she explains in court. Finally, she made her own mousetrap. And it was effective. She believes she killed a three-digit number of mice, and experienced that the problem with mice decreased. The mouse trap was very effective, according to Linda Strand. Photo: Private The woman’s lawyer, Thor Kleppen Sættem, thinks Strand should be acquitted. – She completely agrees that animals should be treated and euthanized in a responsible manner. But her problem was that there were so many mice that it was completely impossible to get rid of the problem with mouse traps and poison. Furthermore, he said that the woman was not looking for the mice to suffer, but that this was the solution to the problem. Think it’s illegal The police, for their part, think the trap was illegal. The reason for that is that the mouse did not die immediately. – We believe that such a bucket trap is not a sufficiently safe method of killing mice, says the prosecutor in the case, Christian Asdahl. The police believe that the woman has breached Section 37 of the Animal Welfare Act, for killing animals in a way that is not appropriate in terms of animal welfare. The prosecutor in the case, Christian Asdahl, believes the woman should be punished. Photo: Solveig Nyhus Aksnes / news In the court case, among other things, they had brought in a witness who told about what such a trap does with mice. – That there is no question of instant death, as is the case with a classic mouse trap. The mice are made to suffer a lot in such a bucket before they drown, they think that is what is against the law, says Asdahl. He agrees that the case is special, because there are no similar cases of drowning mice. – I have submitted a case to the court about the drowning of a chicken back in 1975. But all cases are different, and new things are constantly appearing, he says. The prosecutor requests that Linda Strand must pay a fine of NOK 7,000 and court costs. Asking for acquittal Thor Kleppen Sættem together with Linda Strand in court. Photo: Solveig Nyhus Aksnes / news Lawyer Thor Kleppen Sættem asks that Linda Strand be acquitted. He believes that the case will have enormous consequences if the court finds that this is a criminal offence. – Then there will be hundreds, if not thousands of people all over Norway who have done the same thing. Which is then judged indirectly through the fact that she is sentenced, so I sincerely hope that the district court lands on her being acquitted. The verdict in the case is expected between 10 and 12 July.
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Woman appeared in court for mouse killing – news Møre og Romsdal – Local news, TV and radio
