Document type : French National Assembly written answer published in the Journal officiel de la République française
Authors: Question: Dimitri Houbron (Agir ensemble - Nord). Answer: Ministry of Agriculture and Food
Question: Mr Dimitri Houbron draws the attention of the Minister for Agriculture and Food to the rearing conditions and mutilations suffered by capons. He recalled that more than 1 330 000 chicken capons and 270 000 guinea fowl capons are reared in France each year, capons being male poultry that have been surgically castrated. He recalled that some of this so-called "festive" poultry is produced under quality labels or signs, but some is also produced in intensive farming without any access to the outside world. He added that, in order to qualify as a "capon", all of these animals, regardless of their production method, are subject to the practice of caponisation as well as a period of fattening before slaughter in a totally enclosed building. It specifies that the conditions under which capons are reared and castrated are designed to meet specific organoleptic and taste criteria. He added that caponization consists of castration carried out by the breeder, without any anaesthetic or analgesia, before the animal reaches sexual maturity. He noted that since the testicles of birds, unlike those of mammals, are located in the abdominal cavity, an incision (or two, depending on the case) must be made in the lower abdomen to extract them. He went on to say that the wound was then sewn up or left open, and the bird was placed in a pen with its fellow birds for a short period of monitoring to limit mortality due to the shock of stress and pain, as well as infections. He recalled that the practice of caponisation, considered cruel, has been banned in Belgium since 2001. He therefore wished to know what his intentions were for putting an end to the practice of caponisation in France.
Answer: The practice of caponisation is currently authorised, provided that it is carried out in accordance with the conditions set out in the Order of 5 October 2011 establishing the list of medical or surgical acts that may be performed on animals by certain persons who are not qualified veterinarians. These conditions include a particular requirement that the persons be properly qualified, or trained and experienced in this specific practice. In addition, since 2017, the French Reference Centre for Animal Welfare has provided collective expertise and technical and scientific references to improve the consideration of animal welfare. The "Biosecurity and Animal Welfare Pact" , one of the measures included in the recovery plan, with a budget of 100 million euros, represents an opportunity to support farmers committed to investing in animal welfare in particular. Last, Decree 2020-1625 of 18 December 2020 requires the appointment of an "animal welfare advisor" in all farms and training in animal welfare-friendly farming practices, particularly in the poultry sector, by 1 January 2022. The research undertaken, the industry's commitment to progress and the introduction of "animal welfare advisors" on poultry farms will make it possible to strengthen the degree to which animal welfare is taken into consideration on farms in the future. The practice of live castration in piglets is the subject of extensive research, particularly on pain management. Although carried out in relation to pigs, this work could help to advance the matter in poultry farming. Research is continuing along a number of lines, such as the use of topicals (cold spray, ointments) or phytotherapeutic preparations that could also be used on capons, including in labelled production processes. Furthermore, in order to increase research on painful farming practices, in January 2020 the previous Minister of Agriculture and Food asked the French Reference Centre for Animal Welfare and the national society of veterinary technical groups to work on objectifying painful practices and identifying alternatives. In the future, the sector's research work could therefore focus on the management of anaesthesia or post-caponisation analgesia or on the possibility of immunocastration.
