Morbihan (56) - The wife of the farmer ran away. She did not hesitate to take a stand against her brutal husband, because now she is safe from his violence, she knows what is happening on the farm. She denounces the blows from iron bars or clubs that unceremoniously fall on piglets and sows’ in her testimony, she mentions that the breeder goes so far as to plant his fingers in the eyes of the animals, beating them until they bleed. The most ill-fated corpses will not reach the abattoir, who themselves could raise the alarm. They will be discreetly abandoned in the countryside. One Voice filed a complaint to ensure that the 200 pigs from the farm were kept safe.
If there is still a need to exemplify the link between animal abuse and violence against humans, here is a new individual case that will convince. The Zoe cell, responsible for investigations within the One Voice association, was alerted before the summer of an untenable situation. The investigations are without appeal. The wife complained of domestic violence, but she was worried about the fate of the pigs of the farm, delivered to the free will of the master of the place.
Everyone is king at home, until mistreatment, punishable by law, requires outside intervention. The story of the fugitive wife and initial findings of investigation on the conditions of detention of animals have led One Voice to file a complaint and to mobilize around such unworthy behaviour.
Set in a perimeter without much maintenance, the buildings are in rough blocks, with tin roofs. These primary boxes have neither light nor litter, and the grated area much smaller than the mud where the piglets amass in number. Some suffocate, all dirty, either nervous or have given up. Pregnant sows remain enclosed in metal stalls, exposed without water in full sunlight, frothy lips, dehydrated. They will be in the wind or driving rain for hours until the farmer remembers them. A spell totally inappropriate for animals sensitive to climatic conditions, like the cleanliness of the buildings they occupy.
The farmer does not care. His cruelty is exercised freely. It is to be feared that the departure of his wife accentuates the resentment towards the animals under his responsibility. Such conditions are unacceptable, regardless of the economic context.
One Voice, an association committed since 1995 in the defence of the animal cause, has decided to make a complaint so that first protective measures are taken before definitive replacement of the pigs away from the farmer. This complaint, so-called duplicates with that of the battered wife, was initially classified without consequences. A second complaint was therefore lodged emphasizing these new elements, so that the authorities intervene urgently. A petition also circulates on the website and the social networks of the association.
Muriel Arnal, president-founder of One Voice, justifies the will of action of her association: "The suffering inflicted daily on defenceless animals is intolerable to us. When it is the work of violent individuals who are also guilty of mistreatment of other humans, which is generally the case with such owners, we do not sit idly by and watch. I hope that they will be put out of harm's way and that we will quickly find a permanent solution for his pigs that we forget that they are indeed sentient beings."
Press contact, Muriel Arnal
