Policewoman charged over warning to Zoo Łączna owner before animal raid

Charge and suspension

Prosecutors in Świdnica have charged a policewoman, Katarzyna S., with poplecznictwo, the offence of obstructing criminal proceedings under article 239 §1 of the penal code. The regional prosecutor's office spokesman, Mariusz Pindera, said she admitted the charge after questioning and declined to give further explanations. The prosecutor placed her under police supervision and suspended her from official duties, and her superiors were informed immediately. The charge was announced on Saturday, 24 October.

“The basis for these measures was the need to secure the proper course of criminal proceedings, given the lack of assurance that official information would be kept confidential.”

The recording

A recording published online captures the officer telling the zoo's owner, Marcin N., that she hopes he is not recording her because she is calling him unofficially. Radio Wrocław reports that Marcin N. posted a video the day before the raid, saying prosecutors planned to detain him and relocate the animals, and that he had received that information from the policewoman. Pindera said the recording could not ground criminal liability for the other speaker, because the call was aimed at him and the disclosure of the planned action was what obstructed the proceedings. Marek Rusin, the regional prosecutor, said the leak had escalated the situation.

“In our view, the leak led to an escalation. That escalation changed the plan of action.”

The raid and the animals

On 13 October, prosecutors and police entered the zoo in Łączna, near Mieroszów, to carry out an inspection. Five people were detained and charged with animal cruelty, and 33 animals were removed, some of them taken abroad, according to TVP Info. Radio Wrocław put the number at 30. The action followed a months-long investigation based on a complaint from the Lower Silesian Animal Protection Inspectorate (DIOZ).

In mid-October, an attempt to block the transport of animals led to a police intervention. One person was fined and four were detained for violating officers' physical integrity, and part of the local community opposes the removal of the animals. The zoo is a private institution that has held zoo status since 2012. Its owners say it houses about 100 species, including tigers, kangaroos, Père David's deer and several monkey species.

Gazeta Wyborcza reports that the policewoman was a volunteer for DIOZ until 2022. She told the paper she gathered evidence while working there and passed it to prosecutors, and the paper reports that she accuses the inspectorate of revenge.

Resignation and handover

On Friday, 23 October, the zoo's legal representative, Marta Zając-Ossowska, a former director of the Wrocław zoo, announced her resignation in a post on X. She said she had spent a week seeking formal authority to coordinate the animals' daily care and the zoo team's work, and that the formalities were still not completed despite earlier assurances from authorities. Her resignation came after a question at the prosecutor's press conference about who bears responsibility for the animals.

“I cannot take responsibility for areas where I do not have clearly defined competences and formal authority to make decisions.”

At the same press conference on Friday, the Świdnica regional prosecutor's office took over the investigation from the Wałbrzych district office. Prosecutor Roman Kostowski was named as the case's lead. Niezależna.pl reports that the mayor was not informed of the resignation, and that the animals remain in the mayor's care.