Trial in France

159 cats, 7 dogs: couple banned from keeping animals

The cats came into the care of the animal welfare association ARPA.(Bild: ARPA)

A man and a woman kept 159 cats and seven dogs on 80 square meters: a court in Nice in the south of France has sentenced a couple to a year in prison on probation and permanently banned them from keeping pets. 

In view of the "severely impaired state of health" of the animals, the two were found guilty of abandoning their charges.

The defendants must also pay more than 150,000 euros in damages to animal welfare organizations, including for the care of the animals found in their care. After the sentencing, the 68-year-old owner of the animals stated that she would not "give up". "Who wouldn't appeal against such injustice? It's like telling a woman that she won't have any more children," she said.

Police also found carcasses
Police had been called to a neighbor dispute in 2023 and found dozens of malnourished animals covered in parasites and wounds in the couple's apartment. Investigators also found the carcasses of at least two cats and two puppies in a bathroom.

The organization ARPA took care of the animals after the discovery in July 2023:

"They were the loves of my life, but I slipped", the woman had stated at the hearing. The apartment and the animals had only been in a poor condition temporarily. She had been looking for solutions, but was helpless because the cats were suffering from an infection and the heatwave had made her ill herself, the 68-year-old said.

"Noah's syndrome" diagnosed
A psychological assessment identified "Noah's syndrome" - an animal collecting addiction in which there is a desire to keep more animals than usual without having the ability to care for them properly.

The woman and her 52-year-old partner were facing eviction proceedings and had accumulated rent debts of 8,000 euros. The couple had already been the focus of an investigation in 2014, when they lived with 13 cats and a dog in an 18-square-metre apartment.

Several years later, the woman took in 30 cats that she found in an abandoned building - in the belief that the cats were at risk of being poisoned. The animals then reproduced.