While Oreillette, a five-year-old Normandy cow, will be the headliner at the Salon de l'Agriculture starting tomorrow, breeders launched an online petition on the Change.org website on February 14.
The farmers of the Loué brand (Sarthe) are in fact demanding the end of the cow as the systematic face of this annual event which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.
In a humorous tone, they write
“We, pigs, goats, sheep (and many others) claim our right to the title of muse of the Salon, a place that our ruminant sisters have incubated for 11 years!
And that’s stupid.
This is why we are sowing the seeds of revolt
.
Since the creation of the show in 1964, cattle have been particularly highlighted except in 2013. That year, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the show, a gallery of animal portraits (cow, pig, horse, dog and sheep) had then given way to the cow.
“Today, we want to denounce an injustice.
We are fed up with feeling invisible, faced with the monopoly of cows as the sole face of the Agricultural Show!”
they denounce.
The FERME collective (Fédération des Elevages en Reaction au Monopole des Égéries) has so far collected 336 signatures.
But we will still have to be patient for their demands to be heard because, this year again, the star of the show will be a cow.
The petition launched by Loué breeders.
Change.org screenshot