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– We will appeal the suspension anyway, says Lauvås.
On Thursday afternoon, he received the message that the police had dropped the case against five employees of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and the Animal Welfare Board.
The suspension is justified because “no crime is considered proven.” The indictment further states: “No information has been found in the investigation to support the fact that incorrect information was provided in the gross negligence or incorrect case.”
Lauvås and his lawyer, Arvid Sjødin, believe that the police have not done a thorough enough job.
– If the mistakes hadn’t happened on purpose, they would have said so right away. We have been in contact with many members of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. They didn’t want to meet us once, says Sjødin.
Lauvås and Sjødin also react to the fact that several people who believe they are witnesses in the case have not been questioned.
– There are also several other elements that can come into play. For example, the mining industry will be closed. Could it have something to do with the case? The police have a duty to get to the bottom of this, Sjødin believes.
The director resigned
In May last year, NRK covered the case of Per Olaf Lauvås, who had the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and the Animal Welfare Board inspect his mink farm twice within days of each other in 2018. Two reports were made later. of inspections. While the first was very critical of the farm’s operation, the second was much more positive.
The Norwegian Food Safety Authority acknowledged that there had been several errors in the process.
After the case was reported at NRK, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority launched both an internal and external investigation. The latter was commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture and concluded that the Norwegian Food Safety Authority has challenges that may pose a risk to legal certainty and the implementation of the Authority’s allocation.
Director Harald Gjein also resigned after the case came to light.
A total of three complaints were also filed against seven people at the end of 2018 and in 2019. They were reported for falsification of documents and serious misconduct in the service.
Police previously confirmed that five people had the status of suspects.
Long investigation
Because one of those involved in the case has a past with the police, the case was investigated from North Rogaland. Lauvås and Sjødin also react as the police pass by.
– It has been more than a year since the last time I was questioned. They said they would be finished by the summer. Therefore, he was not fully prepared for the case to be dropped, Lauvås says.
Per Olaf Lauvås is not satisfied with the conclusion of the police.
Photo: Arild Eskeland / NRK
The Norwegian Food Safety Authority, for its part, is satisfied with the police message.
– Subject to cases having an appeal period of three weeks, we are pleased that the police have investigated this case thoroughly and that after a general evaluation of the evidence, they have dropped the case for all those reported because it is not considered proven no crime, says CEO of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, Ingunn Midttun Godal.
– It is a burden for employees to be reported to the police, and it is good to receive this message. In any case, we have learned a lot from the case of fur animals, and it has led to several changes in our routines, he continues.
The police originally dropped the case on February 19, 2019. The Rogaland prosecutor reversed the police lockdown on May 22 of the same year. On May 23, 2019, the police received a report on the same matter from an individual, which means that a total of seven employees of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority were reported.
– The investigation has addressed the provisions of the Penal Code on misconduct and incorrect explanation. After a general evaluation of the evidence in the case, the police have dropped the case of all those reported. In the police’s view, the evidence speaks especially strongly against the fact that criminal acts have been committed, says police attorney Sidsel Tunestveit in a police press release.
