The organisation L214 has published two videos showing mistreated animals, gratuitous violence and brutality in two slaughterhouses in the south of France.
Warning, images and video may be disturbing
The images coming from France are chilling, and viewing is recommended for an adult audience only. Two videos filmed in two slaughterhouses in the French towns of Alès and Vigan, in the Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées region, show abominable treatment inflicted on animals. Left hanging alive from the ceiling, hurled violently against metal partitions, slaughtered while still conscious, stunned by means of electric shocks, asphyxiated with carbon dioxide.
The footage (with English subtitles) was published by the organisation L214, which "campaigns for an end to farming and for the closure of slaughterhouses". The story was picked up by all French media. The French daily 20 Minutes contacted the director of the Vigan site, who spoke of incidents "that should not happen" and of animals mistreated due to "professional errors".
Meanwhile, on its own website the facility assures that "all staff have recently completed training and obtained certificates attesting to their competencies in animal protection and welfare". The company, moreover, was supposed to be organic: "We are well aware of the major differences that exist between organic and standard companies – L214 clarified – and for this reason we imagine that other 'organic' farmers are shocked by these images."
The scandal in France had already made front pages back in October, when the same organisation had released a first piece of footage, filmed inside the Alès site. Here too, it is difficult to put into words what the images show.
On the matter, the daily Le Monde reports, the mayor of the city, Max Roustan, had also intervened, saying he was "struck by the images" and had ordered "the immediate closure, as a precautionary measure, of the slaughterhouse, as well as the opening of an administrative inquiry". The shutdown lasted only a few weeks, however: by mid-December, the facility was permitted to reopen, for an operational "testing phase" carried out under the supervision of the authorities, in preparation for a full resumption of activity. L214, however, has asked to be able to visit the facility "in order to verify transparently that genuinely real changes have indeed been implemented".