A conflict between animal activists and the Natural History Museum Aarhus has resulted in the police in Eastern Jutland spending about 600 hours processing related cases over the past 18 months. According to TV 2 East Jutland, this time spent equates to 75 working days. The conflict involves the Mols Laboratory, which is part of the museum and focuses on a research project where horses and cattle are observed in nature without human intervention. The police reports originate from both animal activists and the museum itself. Activists accuse the laboratory of neglecting the animals, while the museum has reported cases of illegal feeding, harassment of employees, and vandalism. In addition to the 600 hours spent on processing the cases, there is also the time the police have spent patrolling the area.
Museum director Bo Skaarup has stated to TV 2 East Jutland that the 600 hours of work is not surprising, but the situation is untenable. He describes it as an unfair burden on both public funds and the museum’s resources. Skaarup estimates that the museum has spent about the same amount of hours as the police documenting and reporting the various incidents. Although a possible solution could be to reduce the number of reports, Skaarup maintains that it is necessary to report all incidents to ensure that the law is respected. He emphasizes that the police themselves have encouraged reporting all incidents and hopes that the cases will set a precedent, as the area lacks clear guidelines.