Animal Rights Group Steals Puppy From Homeless Man [Video]


A heartbreaking video showing an animal rights group in Paris stealing a puppy from a homeless man has upset people around the world.

In the video above posted on September 19, you can see members of Cause Animale Nord fighting with a homeless man before snatching his puppy off the ground and running away with it. Horrified onlookers watch as two animal activists grab the defenseless animal and pass it off to a third Cause Animale Nord member, who then flees with the puppy while the visibly distraught homeless man chases after him. One of the activists shouts “It’s forbidden by the law!” to the bystanders.

According to the Telegraph, Cause Animale Nord claims they had good reason to steal the dog, posting an explanation on their Facebook page saying the homeless man was using the puppy for begging and had crushed the animal with his body. The post was in response to accusations that the animal rights group was acting in “extreme violence” against the homeless man and the puppy.

“We intervened because it was an urgent situation for the animal,” Cause Animale Nord said. “There was no violence at any moment. The person had thrown himself to the ground, crushing the puppy. The puppy was stunned, had dilated pupils and was staggering around. We took [the puppy] away from a Roma who was using it for begging. The police don’t do anything, we act.”

But that last statement is key. By stealing the puppy from the homeless man, Cause Animale Nord acted outside the law and outside the rules of their own charter, which forbids taking animals away from owners without prior notice. A petition posted on Change.org is calling for the return of the puppy to the homeless man and an investigation into the possibly criminal actions of the organization. The petition has almost 200,000 signatures so far.

According to the Dodo, President of Cause Animale Nord Antony Blanchard admits that the members seen in the disturbing video were not behaving as they should, but he also noted that people like the homeless man do tend to drug and abuse animals for the benefit of begging.

“We know how important the presence of an animal is for people on the street,” Blanchard said. “It is the only link they have with society. But we take this action to help. We can not condone the exploitation and abuse of animals for commercial ends… Even if we do animal protection, there is still a legal framework there. They went completely off.”

The puppy has since been put up for adoption for €175.

Do you think Cause Animale Nord should return the puppy to the homeless man?

[Image credit: Cause Animale Nord]

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