A routine check at a livestock farm in the Bauladu countryside turned into an assault on a veterinarian from the ASL 5 of Oristano.
The professional, already during the 48-hour telephone warning (required by law), had noticed threatening attitudes and tones. Then the threats also at home. At that point, on the day of the check, the vet showed up at the company accompanied by two technical agents. The breeder immediately refused the checks and tried to hinder the vet's work, he snatched the microchip reader from his hands by slamming it forcefully on a rock. Equipment destroyed and tension sky-high.
When the vet tried to call the police to ask for help, the breeder jumped on him, snatching the phone from his hands and preventing him from notifying the police. With the help of technicians, the professional managed to get the phone back, then they reached the car and ran away.
Today the veterinarian received solidarity from the general management of Asl 5 and the Animal Health Service, directed by Enrico Vacca. "A serious fact also because our employee was only doing his job. We condemn this act and we are close to the veterinarian" said the manager Angelo Serusi.
Solidarity also from Sivemp (Italian Union of Veterinarians in Public Medicine) which in a note underlines: «The facts were reported with a delay of a few days due to an incomprehensible refusal by a Carabinieri station to receive the complaint. It should be underlined that in the area where the fact occurred, on that very day there was no telephone reception and not even during the escape, the team managed to alert the Carabinieri for an immediate intervention».
The union points out that the Bauladu episode reiterates "the difficulties in which veterinary doctors operate during official controls; they often go alone to distant territories, in plain or mountain areas where telephone networks are insufficient and for this reason they remain isolated and at the mercy of ill-intentioned people", it reads. "It is known that controls with an unfavourable outcome in the most serious cases can lead to not only economic sanctions but also the loss of community subsidies and sometimes the discovery of fraudulent irregularities can trigger aggressive reactions towards defenceless professionals".
