French slaughterhouse workers on trial accused of cruelty

Three defendants sit on the front row bench of a courtroom in Pau, southwestern France, on September 17, 2018, moments before the start of their trial as employees of the Mauleon slaughterhouse for animal cruelty, two years after the broadcast of a hidden camera footage inside the slaughterhouse by French animal protection association L214. / AFP PHOTO / IROZ GAIZKA

Pau, France – Five slaughterhouse workers went on trial in southern France on Monday over footage showing abuse of livestock at the site which prompted widespread outrage as well as inspections at abattoirs nationwide.

“We expect this trial to recognize the extreme suffering of these animals because regulations were not followed,” said Brigitte Gothiere of the L214 animal rights group.

The group, whose name refers to a 1976 legal clause establishing that animals are “sentient beings”, was behind the posting of secretly-recorded video footage in March 2016 at the slaughterhouse in Mauleon-Licharre.

The images include employees bleeding a sheep while it shows signs of consciousness and a lamb being butchered alive.

It followed similar videos posted by L214 at two other abattoirs and prompted a parliamentary inquiry as well as a series of inspections at sites across France.

Three employees as well as the company’s director, now retired, have been charged with animal mistreatment and not following regulations such as ensuring the animals have been fully stunned before being killed.

A fourth employee is charged only with violating the rules.

But for Gothiere, “this trial will be the occasion to demonstrate the responsibilities of the state and the veterinary services”.

An employee from another abattoir filmed by her group was given an eight-month suspended prison sentence in April 2017.

Similar videos from other countries in recent years have raised pressure on lawmakers to impose stricter oversight on slaughterhouses accused of unnecessary cruelty in order to maximize profits.

French animal rights advocates including the actress Brigitte Bardot have called for surveillance cameras to be installed in slaughterhouses.

But the measure is unlikely to be included in a new law being debated in parliament on food and agriculture, which calls for tougher punishments in case of cruelty at abattoirs or in animal transport, and a mandatory animal welfare chief at each establishment.  /kga