Document type : article published in Le Monde
Authors : Le Monde with AFP
Preview: In May 2022, L214 filed a complaint against her farm following the circulation of a video showing pigs with docked tails. Although this practice is legal, it should only be used as a "last resort", according to the Brest Criminal Court.
A 51-year-old Breton farmer and her farm business have been fined in Brest for systematically docking pigs' tails, a practice that qualifies as animal abuse, we were told by the L214 group on Tuesday August 22.
" This judgement on the systematic docking of pigs' tails marks a turning point: while it is stilll practised on 99% of French farms, this method is nevertheless never approved by government veterinary services. The Brest court's decision is a reminder that the legislation is not optional", commented the animal protection association in a press release.
The farmer was ordered to pay a 1,500 euro fine, of which payment of 500 euros was suspended, while the fine for her business came to 20,000 euros. The farmer told AFP that she had not appealed against the verdict, handed down on June 30. She declined to comment further.
L214 filed a complaint in May 2022 against the farm in Ploudiry (Finistère), which had posted a video on Facebook showing pigs with partially docked tails, a practice for which the technical term is caudectomy. Although it is not prohibited, tail docking should only be used as a "last resort in view of the pain it causes", said the Brest Criminal Court in its judgment, published online by L214.
A "glimmer of hope" for L214
Tail docking is designed to prevent pigs from biting the tails of other pigs on intensive farms, where pigs are often prone to this type of dysfunctional behavior. Rather than resorting to systematic caudectomy, the regulations recommend that farmers should "reduce stress in the animals by addressing the causes of the practice of cannibalism", for example, by "providing them with sufficient light, water and food", notes the Brest court.
During a search of the farm (which raises 5,500 pigs each year), inspectors observed "pigs suffering from cachexia whose malnourishment was obvious, the animal having had to draw on its reserves", according to the ruling.
This decision "must be welcomed as a ray of hope", commented Brigitte Gothière, co-founder of L214, who is quoted in the press release. "It is urgent that the regulations are finally obeyed. There can be no possible excuse or tolerance for this sort of routine practice, which has been banned for over twenty years.
