Three dead horses, unauthorized construction and illegal land grab were revealed by the control of the Forest District in Opoczno over the area leased to the family of the agricultural evictionist for the purposes of breeding Polish horses. MP Robert Telus rejects the accusations and announces legal action.
- The State Forests inform about irregularities in the areas leased by the Opoczno Forest District to the family of PiS MP Robert Telus, former Minister of Agriculture, for the purposes of breeding Polish horses.
- The MP firmly denies the accusations and announced that he will take legal action against the management of the State Forests.
“Disturbing signals”
LP spokesman Rafał Zubkowicz said in an interview with RMF FM that it concerns the lease of approximately 15 ha of land on the outskirts of the forest complex in the Opoczno district. Since 2010 Polish horse breeding is carried out there. The herd numbers about 40 animals. The tenants of the land are the wife and children of MP Robert Telus, but he is the one who collects agri-environmental payments – we read in RMF24. The Opoczno Forest District was to initiate inspections in this area as a result of “disturbing signals”.
Breeding near the forest
“About 40 animals live in semi-wild conditions. They use water from ponds, receive additional feed outside the growing season, and in case of extremely unfavorable weather, they take shelter under a roof. Unfortunately, during the inspection that began two weeks ago, foresters discovered as many as three dead animals: young individuals drowned in a pond and a dead foal that was hidden under a tarpaulin,” the State Forests reported, we read on the RMF24 website. The Sanepid and the veterinary inspection were notified about the dead animals.
In addition, the inspection was to reveal that the Telus family had fenced one hectare more land than stipulated in the contract, and had cut down trees and built shelters without permission.
Jacek Chudy, director of the Regional Directorate of State Forests in Łódź, admits in an interview with RMF24 that “the cause of the horses’ falls has not been determined.” However, the director suggests that “the method, breeding conditions and condition of the herd are questionable.”
The MP denies this
In an interview with the weekly Wprost, MP Robert Telus rejected the accusations of the State Forests and called them a political campaign. He claims that there was no lawlessness on the breeding grounds in Opoczno, and two horses actually died as a result of a wolves attack.
The MP is also outraged that the State Forests are making accusations against him and slandering his relatives using social media. This is despite the fact that – as the State State Forests Management itself points out – the said inspection is still ongoing and the veterinary services have not commented on the causes of animal deaths or the condition of horses in its breeding farm. The MP announced that he would take action to protect his family’s good name and intended to accuse the State Forests of defamation.
The State Forests inspection in the area leased by Telus is scheduled to last until the end of the week.
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