The L214 association files a complaint against a rabbit farm, the prefecture launches an investigation


The Ille-et-Vilaine prefecture ordered an investigation on Thursday following the complaint by the L214 association denouncing “ill-treatment” in the exploitation of rabbits by the president of this sector, video in support, a-t she announced. Teams from the Departmental Directorate for the Protection of Populations (DDPP) “who went to the site, are writing a report whose conclusions will be made available to the prosecution when it deems it useful”, she specified, contacted by AFP.

Images shot at the end of May

The association for the defense of animals L214 filed a complaint on Wednesday with the public prosecutor of Rennes “for the offense of ill-treatment” due to a “lack of care for sick or injured rabbits, unsuitable facilities causing suffering and violent handling” and for “crime of abandonment” concerning injured animals “left dying”, the association said in a press release. The complaint targets a farm located in Domalain, in Ille-et-Vilaine, “as a legal person” as well as its leader, Frédéric Blot, president of the National Federation of Rabbit Producer Groups (Fenalap), and the health veterinarian breeding, Sébastien Arsac, co-founder of L214, told AFP.

The Rennes prosecutor’s office confirmed on Thursday that it had received a first version of this complaint without the video, which should follow. “Upon receipt of all the elements, the prosecution will direct this complaint”, indicates the public prosecutor Philippe Astruc. Contacted several times, Frédéric Blot did not respond to AFP’s requests. Footage that L214 says it shot in late May in Domalain, and made public on Wednesday evening, shows rabbits with skin lesions and infected wounds on their ears, legs and eyes. Other images, often difficult, show dead baby rabbits decomposing or dying, one with its hind legs stuck in a cage.

“Some of the rabbits from this farm are marketed under the Le Gaulois brand”, assures L214

“Some rabbits have yellowed legs from being in contact with their urine,” said Sébastien Arsac. According to L214, the farm operates 1,500 breeding does, inseminated every 42 days and giving birth to more than 130,000 young rabbits each year. “Some of the rabbits from this farm are marketed under the Le Gaulois brand” of the LDC poultry company, assures L214. The group had not reacted Thursday evening. The association calls for the emergency closure of the operation, which is supposed to set itself up “as an example” and “show the future of the sector”. President of Fenalap, Frédéric Blot is also at the head of the Elvilap group which markets 2.6 million rabbits per year, or around 10% of French production, recalls the association.



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