No, Angora rabbits don't like having their fur pulled out!
One Voice leads a nonviolent fight to defend animal rights and respect all life forms. The organization operates independently and is thus free to speak and act freely.
Following its investigation into numerous angora rabbit farms in 2016 and images taken in 2018 showing that nothing has changed. One Voice attacked the Ministry of Agriculture and Food in front of the State Council for its implicit refusal to ban the practice of depilating angora rabbits. The hearing will take place in Paris on June 7th at 2 p.m.
“Combing”
or “depilation” is a painful practice for rabbits, which is
a gross understatement. This operation of hair removal is carried out
while they are totally conscious, to pluck their entire body hair by
handles, four times a year, for years to come. To do this, they are
sometimes held motionless, squeezed between the farmer’s legs,
sometimes tied to a board in painful, stretched out positions. The
skin is often torn off along with the hair, especially around the
eyes and genitals, where it is the thinnest and most fragile. The
howls of the rabbits pierce the eardrums, who do not use their voice
to communicate except in case of great danger.
Proof
of this is in our 2016 undercover survey which was carried out
involving several farms, and it was update in 2018 with images from a whistle-blower. Nothing had changed two years after the scandal was
unearthed by One Voice and widely publicized.
The
females used as reproducers, sexing at just a few weeks old, rabbits
who die from the cold due to their fragility at low temperature, the
fast which is imposed several days before the forced hair removal,
all these “secondary” elements combine and go towards the
sense of stopping this barbaric practice.
The
association therefore challenged the Ministry of Agriculture and then
made this appeal following its silence. The status quo is not
acceptable for Angora rabbits.
At
a time when a new farm is in danger of opening, subsidized by the
Somme department and without a preliminary investigation, we protest
against the fact that France persists in supporting such industries
based on animal suffering.
The
French have expressed very clearly their desire to live in a society
in which ecology is central, and where animals are respected. The
government must take the measure of its decisions.
Muriel Arnal says:
«Through our investigations, public awareness and procedures, we will continue to defend angora rabbits. They too have the right to something other than a miserable life of suffering and stress.»
The public judgment session of
June 7th,
2019 will be held at 2 p.m. at the State Council in Paris, metro
Palais Royal.