The images of calves, still aware at the time of their bleeding, are unsustainable. In a new video survey, the association for the defense of animal welfare L214 pinpoints one of the largest abattoirs of calves in France.
Read also: What happens to the slaughterhouses and farms pinned by the vegan association L214?
This industrial slaughterhouse located in Dordogne produces for the company Sobeval, which belongs to the Dutch group Van Drie, world leader in veal. 3400 calves are killed there every week, at a rate of around 90 calves per hour and " all types of slaughter are practiced there: standard and ritual slaughter (kosher and halal) ", specifies L214. The slaughterhouse " kills calves whose meat is certified Label Rouge, organic, Saveurs du Périgord or Le veau du boucher ", details the association.
"Cruel and illegal practices"
L214 believes that " at the Sobeval slaughterhouse, there are multiple violations of the law and concern ritual slaughter as much as standard slaughter ". And to add: " They imply an increased suffering of animals ". It is mainly the slaughter without stunning which is pointed out.
Regarding kosher and halal slaughter, the association explains that "most calves are killed without stunning" . However, recalls L214, "when there is a throat cut without prior stunning, the law requires that the animals be immobilized until they no longer show any sign of consciousness or sensitivity" . Problem: in the images we have seen, calves show signs of consciousness before and after being suspended from the slaughter line. Regarding "standard" slaughter, L214 denounces dizziness carried out in violation of the regulations. “Contrary to the regulatory obligation, at the Sobeval slaughterhouse the head of the calves is never immobilized at the time of their stunning. Thus, many poorly adjusted shots must be repeated, injuring the animals without making them unconscious, ” explains L214. The images show in particular animals that regain consciousness at the time of their bleeding.
Animals can consciously agonize for long minutes
Sébastien Arsac, co-founder of L214.“ From intensive farming to industrial slaughter, thousands of calves killed at the Sobeval slaughterhouse have known nothing but hell. The worst is slaughter without stunning. Halal or kosher, animals can consciously agonize for long minutes. Slaughter must be stopped without stunning. But do not veil your face, the standard slaughter is not to be outdone. There too, the cadences and the failures, which do not fail to arrive, cause unnamed suffering to the animals. There is an urgent need to close this slaughterhouse and, beyond that, to question the legitimacy of continuing to slaughter animals unnecessarily, "said Sébastien Arsac, co-founder of L214, in a press release.
Complaint filed
Consequently, L214 has decided to "file a complaint with the public prosecutor of Périgueux for cruelty to animals and requests the emergency closure of the slaughterhouse, which presents serious structural problems and largely deficient slaughtering practices" . The association has also written to Didier Guillaume, Minister of Agriculture, and expects "a rapid and appropriate response" from him.
