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Assemblée nationale : Réponse écrite à la question n°39377 : Dysfonctionnements importants dans les abattoirs

By August 24th 2021September 14th, 2021No Comments

Document type : Written answer published in the Journal officiel de la République française

Authors: Question: Ms Danièle Obono (La France insoumise - Paris). Answer: French Ministry of Agriculture and Food

Question: Ms Danièle Obono draws the Minister of Agriculture and Food's attention to the existence of major system failures in abattoirs. Recently, the Association L214 filmed new and unbearable scenes at the Briec abattoir in Brittany. In this video, we see once again practices and facilities that fail to follow regulations, that are dangerous for employees, and that cause extreme suffering in the animals concerned. On this topic, a 2016 report by the French veterinary services already identified these very failures, yet they are still continuing five years on. This case is not an isolated one - for the year 2020 alone, three other investigations have revealed serious failures by other companies: the Sobeval veal abattoir in Boulazac in February 2020; the Roquefort lamb abattoir in Rodez in June 2020; and in the LDC turkey abattoir in Blancafort in December 2020. In those non-compliant facilities, faulty or obsolete equipment, untrained staff and appalling practices were revealed, highlighting major failings both at the abattoirs and in the State inspection services. Notwithstanding this fact, the three investigations and the the failures observed did not result in an order for any significant measures to be taken. Given this situation, the Association L214 has asked the Minister of Agriculture for a comprehensive audit of all abattoirs in France, such as that conducted in 2016 which resulted in no measures. Further, given that the State has committed 130 million euros to the modernisation of abattoirs, the opportunity exists to carry out a general survey and to order the publication of individual reports on each establishment, thereby requiring the level of transparency that is the only way to rebuild the trust between consumers and the meat industry. She asks him to describe the measures taken by the services he controls with regard to these observed failures and whether he can undertake to order a general audit of French abattoirs and to make it compulsory for all French establishments to publish annual reports on their conformity with standards and regulations.

Answer: Animal protection is a priority for the Government, which is determined to put in place permanent solutions to the cases of animal abuse that have been observed. For each observed case of failure, the response has been commensurate with the non-compliance recorded and the authorities have been able to bring an end to the activities in question as soon as this was required. It is necessary to remind ourselves that the primary responsibility for the respect of animal welfare lies with the abattoir industry and with the officers of the French veterinary inspection service (SVI) through their statutory duties concerning the monitoring of abattoirs. Each animal must be inspected before slaughter. This inspection consists of the assessment of the health and welfare status of the animals on arrival at the abattoir and also inspections related to the traceability and cleanliness of the animals. Compliance with animal protection requirements is checked at least twice a year by the in-house abattoir inspection services in the form of full audits. In addition, the implementation of internal controls by the operator is also inspected. Last, physical checks of the slaughter facilities themselves are regularly carried out. Therefore, a one-off action in the form of a general audit of all abattoirs would be neither a sufficient nor an appropriate response in the long term. In order to support and modernise French abattoirs in a sustainable manner, the Minister of Agriculture and Food has launched a three-part abattoir plan. First, France's recovery plan makes it possible to support the investments needed for the modernisation of abattoirs: €115 million has already been allocated to 123 projects across the country, 44 of which include video surveillance systems. A new coordinated country-wide control system is also being implemented this year to ensure parity in the corrective measures put in place. A national abattoir inspection force of 6 officers has also been created allowing rapid intervention for difficult cases wherever and whenever this is requested by local police chiefs or by the Directorate-General for Food.