It's nearly bedtime and ten excited new pet owners are carefully filling water bottles and food bowls, preparing their animals for the night. But these are not small children learning how to look after their first real responsibility: they are grown men, serving time in a Strasbourg prison.
The animals include rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas and birds, and each prisoner is responsible for feeding and watering their own pets. And animal mediator Patricia Arnoux says that the effects of the little balls of fur upon the prisoners have been nothing short of astounding.
For the prisoners, being responsible for another living being has taken some getting used to, but after the initial hurdle, they have found it very rewarding, and have formed close bonds with the pets. And they themselves admit that the animals have changed their temperaments for the better.
And prison director Benedicte Brunelle is a big believer in the power of the animal therapy.
The Animal Affinity Club now aims to spread the concept to other prisons and institutions such as nursing homes.
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