The endless agony of a young calf in the courtyard of a slaughterhouse in Vannes will be the subject of an appeal on April 3, 2017 at 10:30 in Rennes. Once again, One Voice will be a civil party to defend Jo's memory and advocate for the respect of an animal person.
The case that moved the whole of France: Saturday October 1 2016, a calf is delivered to the slaughterhouse in the trading estate area of Prat, where it falls from a ramp when it is pushed out of the truck. It tears the ligaments of its hind legs and breaks its pelvis when hitting the ground. Left alone all weekend, the animal remains lying on the concrete floor in the rain and the cold, with nothing to drink. His suffering is atrocious. But, it’s only on Monday that the SPA (Society for the Protection of Animals) Vannes had been given warning of this, and that on Sunday morning the young bull - which we named Jo – had finally been put down.
Immediately, One Voice and the SPA of Vannes filed a complaint against the slaughterhouse, as well as four other associations. At the end of a first trial, SARL Sélection Viande Distribution was found guilty of three offenses. A 600 euros fine was claimed for "deprivation of food or watering of a domestic animal by its keeper, breeder or animal keeper", 800 euros for "deprivation of care" and 800 euros still for "ill-treatment to a domestic animal ". A ridiculous price for the suffering of Jo ...
From the judgment rendered by the law court, the Sarl Société Viande Distribution appealed the sentence pronounced against them. There is now a second trial that will open on April 3 to defend the memory of Jo.
As a plaintiff, One Voice is hoping to obtain even more severe fines than in the first instance, so that this judgment is a landmark decision and that, never again, shall a young calf with a broken leg does not agonize alone on a cold concrete floor of a deserted slaughterhouse.
Remember that 4.7 million calves and large cattle die in more than 260 slaughterhouses each year in France. That’s one animal every 7 seconds... And very often in unworthy conditions.
