She rarely picks up the phone. She says she is tired and no longer likes to express herself, apart from a few vengeful tweets here and there, devoting her strength to her enchanted little farm in Saint-Tropez, a few kilometers from La Madrague, where she lives recluse with her husband and his real Noah's Ark. "Here, we do not meet anyone, I do not risk catching the virus," she says. But today, Brigitte Bardot is angry at the resurgence of abandonment of pets since the start of the harsh wave of the coronavirus epidemic. Shelters have closed, volunteers are confined to their homes, donations stop. Several managers of animal dispensaries reported having received a lot of calls since last weekend and the entry into containment, of people wanting to separate from their pets, either that they left the city in an emergency, or for fear of contamination. The actress calls for calm.
How are you first?
BRIGITTE BARDOT. Oh but we don't care how I'm doing. I don't speak up to talk about my little problems. I'm not happy. All these abandonments are disgusting. It is inadmissible to think that animals can transmit the coronavirus. The poor animals have nothing to do with this virus, all scientists have explained. It is transmitted between humans. But human beings are becoming more and more inhuman. It is very cruel to take revenge on cats and dogs, to make scapegoats. They will starve, not coronavirus.
Can you afford to collect these abandoned animals?
My Foundation can no longer take a single one. We already have 6000. The SPA is more than saturated. The centers are closed. It is imperative that these heartless people recover. May they find a little humanity and common sense. I do not understand. The only way to go out today is to walk your dog! The Spanish have understood this. They have been massively adopting in recent weeks, instead of giving up. They behave better than the French. Yet it is not a people known to make the animal sacred ... It is really absurd: while we are forbidden to see our friends, the only friend we have left is our pet ...
Do you understand that today, we are thinking first of the victims of the epidemic?
Of course, there is a serious problem that affects the population as a whole. But it is not on dogs and cats that we should take revenge! On the contrary, they are part of the family. This is the time when we need them most. They can bring so much in these times of distress. We walk on the head.
Can the government help you?
The government doesn't give a damn about animals. They have already done nothing for sterilization which limits the number of stray animals and does not cost much.
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How to do it in the big cities where the parks have been closed, like in Paris? Many abandoned cats are fed there by associations or individuals…
It's cruel. They are going to die. In the closed parks, the authorities could at least let pass a person authorized with an exemption, accustomed to feed cats which it knows. However, it is very often elderly ladies in general who will be fined € 135 for having left without their papers. If the cops could look away for once. You have to feed them. We are responsible for these little beings who have done nothing wrong and who sometimes have a life of horror. It is dramatic what happens. Not only do we forget them, but we also make them responsible. I see the bottom of the human soul which can be appalling.
Do you have any hope of saving them?
In my opinion, expect the worst. Maybe in the cities, the municipalities have to delegate someone to feed the little animals. It's not very complicated anyway. And stop damn it! When we adopt, it's because we wanted to. You don't throw your cat over the wall of a refuge, as I was told.