The prefect of Morbihan, Pascal Bolot, suspended the activity of two pig farms owned by the same operator, targeted by a complaint from the L214 association for “ill-treatment” of animals, the prefecture announced on Friday March 8.
A judicial investigation was opened after a recent complaint from L214 concerning the two farms which belong to the same breeder, in Malansac and Trédion, whose, according to the association, "the catastrophic state suggests that [they are] in abandonment.” On Thursday, L214 made public photos and videos in which we can see pigs with gaping wounds, pieces of corpses lying in a manger but also sows cohabiting with their dead piglets.
“This farm has already been the subject, since May 2023, of several inspections by specialized state services”, which had been “alerted of the situation of these farms and whose last visit dated from” November 2023, specifies the prefecture in a press release on Friday. These inspections revealed “irregularities” which, at the time, “did not justify administrative closure measures but formal notices”.
“Numerous breaches”
“In order to verify the correction of the irregularities noted, and independently of the broadcast of the video by L214, a new visit to the Malansac and Trédion sites was scheduled,” adds the prefecture. “Carried out this Thursday”, it “revealed numerous shortcomings”, both for animal protection and for environmental protection.
“Taking into account these elements, the prefect has decided, in the exercise of his administrative powers, to suspend, as of March 8, 2024, the activity of these two farms which are under the control of a single operator. This decision is without prejudice to the ongoing investigation conducted under the authority of the public prosecutor,” according to the prefecture.
Created in 2008, the L214 association, which campaigns for a world without animal exploitation and therefore without meat, made itself known by broadcasting shocking images filmed in secret on farms or slaughterhouses.
Following a previous complaint, two companies constituting one of the largest Breton pig farms were sentenced last Friday in Brest to a fine of 60,000 euros, including 20,000 suspended for “animal mistreatment”.
