The treatment of eels at Malmö Nation causes detest. Animal Rights Sweden says this action is reprehensible and that the organisation has now made a report of cruelty to animals against Malmö Nation.
A video clip from last autumn shows how one person catches a live eel from a barrel during a sittning at Malmö Nation. The eel is then held up in front of an ecstatic cheering audience.
When Lundagård sent the film to Sweden’s biggest animal rights- and animal protection organisation Animal Rights Sweden there was no doubt: a clear case of cruelty to animals, according to Camilla Björkbom chairperson of Animal Rights Sweden.
“You don’t have to watch that much in order to see that this is cruelty to animals”, she says to Lundagård after having seen the clip.
The report has been made before
That incident has also earlier been reported for cruelty to animals. The 30th of September this year somebody presented a report to Animal Rights Lund. Then the organisation did not chose to pursue the case, but after having seen the newly surfaced clip a new report will be made according to Camilla Björkbom.
“It’s terrible. The eels are not only captured, but tormented as well”, she says and continues:
“It’s said in the Law Relating to the Protection of Animals that animals are to be protected from unnecessary suffering and from sickness. But this is clearly cruelty to animals and should be reported”.
In that case, who will the report be aimed at?
“Firstly, to the organiser you would think”, she says.
The case was closed after contact with Malmö Nation
That has also been done. After Lundagård publicised the article about Malmö Nation’s treatment of eels, Animal Rights Lund has during this Saturday chosen to report the Nation for cruelty to animals.
Behind the report is Camilla Bergvall, chairperson of Animal Rights Lund. She received the first report about cruelty to animals. She was then in connection with that, in contact with the Nation’s curator William Personne, and later chose not to pursue the report to the County Administrative Board.
“We contacted Malmö Nation and asked about the incident. The curator then claimed not to have any knowledge about what had happened, but that it will not happen again”, says Camilla Bergvall.
The pictures from the sittning then disappeared from Malmö Nation’s homepage as a result of the report. That, along with Personne’s reassurance, made Animal Rights Sweden not perusing the report.
“I was shocked”
As a result of the recently surfaced video clip, this time Animal Rights Sweden will continue the report.
Camilla Bergvall was surprised herself about the situation already when the first report against the Nation was filed.
“In the report a person says that the eel was tossed around and finally tormented to death. The student, who reported it, found the event uncomfortable and didn’t want it to happen again”, she says.
How did you react over the report?
“I was shocked that the students were doing this. You hope that they would be able to consider it and that someone would question the tradition”, she says and continues:
“It is so terrible”.
Have you experienced anything like this before?
“I have never heard about anything like this before. That you in connection with students treat and torments animals in this way for fun. We don’t usually hear stories like this”, says Camilla Bergvall.
Now awaits a decision from the police if they chose to pursue the report about cruelty to animals or not.
