Police officers, as well as representatives of the State Fire and Rescue Service, together with employees of the Food and Veterinary Service (PVS), conducted an inspection of an apartment in the Riga neighborhood of Imanta, where many emaciated pets and the remains of domestic animals were found in unsanitary conditions, the State Police reported.
Suspected of animal cruelty, which resulted in their deaths, the State Police detained the apartment owner.
The inspection was initiated after the PVS received information from the residents of the building about an unbearable smell.
When PVS inspectors and law enforcement officers entered the apartment by court order, a strong smell of urine and animal feces was noted.
The apartment had no electricity or water, and there were no bowls with drinking water or food for the animals. The floors in all rooms of the apartment were covered with animal feces, and in the corners of the rooms, the layer of feces reached 10-15 centimeters, indicating long-term violations of animal care requirements.
During the inspection of the apartment, the remains of animals were found - one cat, two dogs, and one parrot.
There were also 27 live cats found in the apartment with obvious health problems. The emaciated pets were taken to the "Labās mājas" animal shelter of the "Juglas dzīvnieku aizsardzības grupa" society.
On the same day, the State Police detained the apartment owner - a 50-year-old woman who had not previously come to the attention of the police.
A criminal case has been initiated against her under the second part of Article 230 of the Criminal Law - for animal cruelty that led to their death, or for the torture of animals that led to their death. For such a crime, the law provides for imprisonment for up to five years, or short-term imprisonment, or probation supervision with deprivation of the right to keep certain or all types of animals for up to five years.
During the investigation, preventive measures have been applied to the suspect - a travel ban and a requirement to appear at the police at a specified time.
The State Police confirmed that the issue of appointing a forensic psychological examination for the woman will be addressed.
The information available to the police also indicates that the woman did not reside in this apartment permanently.
