The neighbors raised the alarm about a “pungent smell” for a year.
When the police finally got into a woman’s apartment in Stockholm, it was revealed that the home was a farm.
A dog, a turtle and 1,000 hamsters were found.
The residents of the apartment building in central Stockholm described how they could not be on the balcony, have the windows open without the stench entering their home and that they always had to hold their breath in the stairwell.
In the summer of 2021, the County Administrative Board, together with the police, entered the apartment where the smell was thought to be coming from.
And then hamsters were found – everywhere.
Sentenced for apartment farm
In cages and buckets that were in the living room, the hall, the kitchen and the bathroom there were about 1,000 rodents. Among other things, the animals were placed under the sink without access to daylight, according to the investigation. A dog and a turtle were also found.
The owner of the apartment, a woman in her 60s, stated that she breeds, sells and would sell the rodents. She also said that she handled the animals well.
Now, despite her denial, she has been sentenced by the Stockholm District Court to daily fines of a total of SEK 2,500 for violating the Animal Welfare Act after not giving the rodents and the dog “the right environment, supervision and access to feed and water.”