L214

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L214 éthique & animaux
logo
legal form Non-profit organization
founding 2008
founder Sébastien Arsac, Brigitte Gothière
Seat Lyon , France ( ⊙ coordinates: 45 ° 43 ′ 50.9 ″  N , 4 ° 53 ′ 8.3 ″  E ) FranceFrance 
main emphasis Animal rights , animal welfare , animal ethics
method Research , education , campaigns
Action space France
Chair Antoine Comiti
sales around € 1 million  (2016) 
Members over 15,000 
Website www.l214.com

L214 (also known as L214 éthique & animaux ) is a non-profit animal welfare organization in France founded in 2008 by Sébastien Arsac and Brigitte Gothière.

The association deals with the protection of farm animals that are used for human consumption (meat, milk, eggs, fish).
The mission is: "to show the reality of what is going on in the slaughterhouses ".

history

The name of the organization comes from the article "L214" of the French law "Code Rural", in which animals are referred to as "sensitive beings" for the first time in French law:
"Every animal is a (pain) sensitive being that is affected by its Owner must be kept under conditions compatible with the biological requirements of his species. "

However, this article is not seriously taken into account in France either in current practice or in case law.

main emphasis

The association wants to document the common conditions of animal breeding, fishing, transport and slaughter of animals in order to promote the public debate about the welfare of animals. The association regularly conducts information campaigns to rethink and change the animal welfare laws and consumer behavior. The results and experiences of the association as well as the published images and videos are often broadcast on television and adopted by websites, blogs and print media. In 2016, the association had 15 permanent employees, more than 15,000 members, 230,000 newsletter subscribers, half a million Facebook subscribers and a budget of around one million euros per year.

Campaigns

Killing chicks

In November 2014, the association published a video on its website that was filmed at the Saint-François hatchery in Saint-Hernin in western France. The video shows chicks being packed alive in garbage bags and suffocated. They are thrown alive in a dumpster or shredded alive. According to the association, 100,000 chicks were killed in this way in 2014. The manager of the hatchery was sentenced on March 8, 2016 for animal abuse by the criminal court in Brest to a fine of 19,000 euros. He was acquitted of the second charge, "willful and unnecessary destruction of pets," as the court held that the crimes were not committed by himself but by the employees. A month earlier, at the hearing on February 2, 2016, the managing director stated in court that he was unaware of the practice of throwing live chicks directly into the shredder and he assured them that he had instructed the employees to remove the chicks first to pass it on to the euthanasia machine ". However, the hatchery also sold dead chicks, for which they had issued invoices that also included the methods of killing. About a year after the conviction, the hatchery was closed on March 2, 2017 by the commercial court in Brest declared bankrupt.

Foie gras

France is the largest producer of foie gras products . While import and sale is allowed in the EU, production is banned in many countries. It is only produced in five countries across Europe: France, Belgium, Spain, Bulgaria and Hungary. In November 2013 research by L214 revealed what was going on behind the facades of the largest foie gras producer in France, the company "Ernest Soulard". The research was carried out in August 2013 in six of the producer's mast systems. The resulting film material shows the cruel truth hidden behind foie gras: The ducks are penned in tiny metal cages, completely frightened, many of them are injured or are struggling with death. They are force-fed several times a day, as if on a conveyor belt, by pumping the food directly into their stomachs through a metal tube. The images show the animals that are sick from the painful feeding, are barely able to breathe and are struggling with death - or have already lost and are lying lifeless in their cages. Another task of the fatteners is the administration of antibiotics, although antibiotics are forbidden in the feeding fattening in order to protect the health of the consumers.

Fur industry

In Germany there is now only one fur farm and although over 84% of French citizens speak out against fur , there are still around ten fur farms with over 100,000 animals in France. The research photos published by the association in February 2018 show that the conditions on European fur farms are by no means better than in China. The pictures were taken in November 2017 on one of the fur farms in the Vendée region . The footage shows minks that have been locked up in tiny wire cages their entire lives and that show stereotypical behavior such as constantly turning in circles or rocking up and down. They bite the bars and try to escape their position. In addition to the publication, an online petition was started calling for a breeding ban for fur animals. In addition, an almost 30 page long report was published which was passed on to the European Commission and the authorities in France.

Slaughterhouses

The L214 association is best known for uncovering cases of animal abuse and cruelty in slaughterhouses:

Metz slaughterhouse

In September 2008, the association researched in the Charal slaughterhouse in the city of Metz in north-eastern France. The hidden recordings were made by an activist of the association who had previously been hired by the Charal company as an employee in the slaughterhouse. Two previous requests from the association for a visit to the slaughterhouse were rejected by a letter from Charal, in which the company had declared: "It has made animal welfare a central and specific part of its quality policy". The secretly filmed research footage from the slaughterhouse shows employees slaughtering cattle, which are slaughtered contrary to the applicable regulations and lead to an unbearable death in the animals. French Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire said he was shocked by the images of animals regaining consciousness before and while they were bleeding. As a result of the publication, he announced a general inspection of the French slaughterhouses. On September 1, 2009, L214 filed a lawsuit against the Charal company for "cruelty to animals" at the court in Metz. The Charal company denies the allegations of cruelty to animals: "L214 accuses us of things that we cannot blame," said a spokesman. In addition, Charal's lawyers had asked the L214 association to remove all video documents from the Metz slaughterhouse from the Internet. When the one-hour documentary and report on Arte "Never again meat" was broadcast for the first time in March 2012, which also showed scenes from the video of L214 from the slaughterhouse in Metz, Charal filed a lawsuit against both Association L214, as well as against their spokesman Sébastien Arsac and against the television station Arte, because of a violation of the presumption of innocence and damage to reputation. In 2013, the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris declared Charal's claims inadmissible and dismissed the lawsuit. At the same time, Charal was ordered to pay the other side's costs from all four parties, for a total of approximately 6,000 euros.

Alès slaughterhouse

On October 14, 2015, the association published several videos of secretly filmed recordings from the municipal slaughterhouse in Alès in the Gard department in southern France . It shows the killing of horses, pigs and cattle under poor hygienic conditions. Live horses are hoisted into the slaughter box with winches on one leg. Conscious horses and cows have their throats cut while they are still alive. Pigs scream their hearts out as they are stunned with carbon dioxide and eventually killed. The images, captured by many media outlets, forced the authorities and the mayor of the municipality, Max Roustan, to temporarily close the slaughterhouse. Almost three years later, the well-known animal protection activist Brigitte Bardot from France and Rémi Gaillard published new video material from the Alès slaughterhouse on May 20, 2018, which was secretly recorded in February 2018. The recordings make it clear that in the meantime nothing has changed in the grievances since the last publication in 2015. The video shows how sheep and cattle are ritually slaughtered without prior stunning. A pig tries to escape from the CO 2 pit and a calf, which vomits the milk from its mother at the time of the killing. In April 2016, the mayor of the municipality of Max Roustan stated at a hearing that 60,000 animals are slaughtered in the Alès slaughterhouse every year and more than 50% of them, i.e. a significant proportion in halal.

Vannes slaughterhouse

In October 2015, animal welfare organizations, including this association, filed a lawsuit against the slaughterhouse in Vannes after it was discovered that a young cattle in the slaughterhouse courtyard with a broken basin and without water and food had to endure the whole weekend. The owner of the slaughterhouse, SARL Sélection Viande, was sentenced in June 2016 to a fine of 2,200 euros and 7,300 euros for reimbursing the other side's costs.

Vigan slaughterhouse

On February 22, 2016, the association released three videos from several hours of secretly filmed footage from the municipal slaughterhouse of Vigan in the Gard department . The facility is a certified organic slaughterhouse located in the south of France . The footage shows how some employees mistreat the animals and sadistically mock them. An employee gives several electric shocks to a sheep and laughs. Sheep are brutally thrown against a metal barrier and animals that have not been properly stunned and are still fully conscious are slaughtered anyway. A pig receives electric shocks on its head until smoke rises. The slaughterhouse closed just a day after it was published. A month after the closure, the mayor of the municipality decided to reopen the slaughterhouse, provided that no more horses are slaughtered. In addition, the public prosecutor's office started an investigation after the association had submitted secretly made video recordings to L214, which prove that animals were brutally treated and tortured before slaughter. In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture initiated proceedings against the state veterinary authority. On March 23, 2017, the trial was opened in the city of Alès against three natural persons (employees and former employees of the slaughterhouse) and one legal person (from the local authority of the municipality who manage the slaughterhouse), who have to answer in court. This is the first criminally relevant court case against slaughterhouse employees in France. On April 28, 2017, a former employee of the slaughterhouse was sentenced by the criminal court in Alès to a suspended sentence of eight months and a fine of 600 euros for animal abuse. On the other hand, the local association of municipalities Pays Viganais , which ran the slaughterhouse, was fined 3,500 euros.

Mauléon-Licharre slaughterhouse

On March 29, 2016, the association revealed a new case of animal abuse from an intercommunal slaughterhouse in Mauléon-Licharre in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department . The facility slaughters animals from the organic sector and the Label Rouge quality seal . The recordings prove that the legal rules are not respected or at least rarely respected and that there are also many cases of animal cruelty. The video shows scenes of unbearable cruelty: lambs hung by their feet were still conscious when they were fatally cut through the throats and wriggled in despair, some were apparently not dead when they were already cut. L214 has filed a lawsuit with the Pau District Attorney for animal abuse, aggravated animal abuse and cruelty. Based on the publication, the mayor of the municipality decided to close the facility for an indefinite period of time so that investigations can be carried out. The President of the Association of Veterinary Inspectors, Laurent Lasne, admits that veterinarians have made mistakes while denouncing the 20 percent decline in the number of employees over the past ten years. She claims that the abuse cases detected by L214 are exceptional and are not representative of all French slaughterhouses, without however proving the statements. The public prosecutor's office in Pau found several criminal offenses during an investigation into the published videos. In March 2018 four employees and the former director of the slaughterhouse u. a. the trial will be opened for cruelty to animals, but the date has been postponed to September 17 and 18, 2018.

Pézenas & Mercantour slaughterhouse

On June 29, 2016, the association published several videos that were recorded in two slaughterhouses in southern France . They come from the slaughterhouse in Pézenas and the Mercantour slaughterhouse in Puget-Théniers . They were secretly recorded between November 2015 and May 2016. The recordings testify to medieval conditions, excruciating methods and unnecessary brutality towards animals. The pictures from the slaughterhouse in Pézenas show an employee sticking the point of his knife in the eye of a sheep. The animal's throat is then cut without prior anesthesia. The publications met with a great response across France. This was followed by vigils in front of the slaughterhouse in Puget-Théniers and further demonstrations against the slaughterhouse, for which the operator was forced to cease operations until further notice. In the early 2000s, the slaughterhouse was on the verge of final closure.

Limoges slaughterhouse

On November 3, 2016, three more videos were released that were filmed by an employee of the Limoges slaughterhouse , the largest urban slaughterhouse in France, with around 80 employees and 300 to 500 animals slaughtered daily. The videos show the slaughter of pregnant cows that are violently beaten before the unborn calves are removed from them and thrown in the trash. You can see how the employees cut open the bellies of pregnant cows with knives and take out the fetus. They are then thrown onto a large pile of intestines and other fetuses.

As early as 2014, PETA drew attention to the fact that pregnant cows are slaughtered in Germany. According to a study by the Federal Veterinary Association , around 180,000 unborn calves die in German slaughterhouses every year - they slowly and painfully suffocate, while their mothers bleed to death on the butcher's hook. A new law came into force on September 1, 2017. After that it is no longer allowed: "To give up a mammal that is in the last third of its gestation for the purpose of slaughter". This law had already been sharply criticized in advance after the CDU / CSU and SPD presented a bill in April 2017. Experts, veterinarians and animal welfare associations criticize the fact that the law does not include all animals for slaughter, but expressly excludes sheep and goats. In addition, the law contains unfounded and animal welfare-unfriendly exceptions, which make it possible to slaughter pregnant cattle.

Houdan slaughterhouse

On February 16, 2017, the association released two new videos about animal abuse from a slaughterhouse in northern France. They come from the Guy Harang slaughterhouse in Houdan in the Yvelines department , around 70 km from Paris . The slaughterhouse is a pure pig slaughterhouse. It is the only and last of its kind to be found in the Île-de-France region of northern France. The videos show how pigs are repeatedly beaten by an employee when they refuse to voluntarily run in the direction of the stunning system. He kicks the pigs in the head and gives them electric shocks. L214 filed an animal abuse lawsuit against the slaughterhouse in the Versailles court .

In January 2017, the French parliament decided to introduce video surveillance in French slaughterhouses from 2018. This is intended to reduce animal abuse and unnecessary cruelty to animals. The recordings from the slaughterhouse in Houdan were taken a month before Sébastien Arsac, the co-founder of L214 and another member entered the slaughterhouse area on the night of December 11th to 12th, 2016 in order to install a hidden camera in a gondola of the stunning system . The aim was to document the suffering of the pigs during CO 2 stunning. Neither of them suspected that the slaughterhouse was already equipped with a video surveillance system. When they wanted to pick up the camera with the recordings the next day, they were arrested on site by the gendarmerie. On October 9, 2017, both had to answer in court for "trespassing and attempting to invade privacy by transmitting images".

Chantonnay slaughterhouse

On September 6, 2017, the association published two videos that were recorded between April and May 2017 in an industrial broiler farm on behalf of the Groupe Doux and in a slaughterhouse in Chantonnay in the Pays de la Loire region . For this purpose, an almost 50 page long report was published which, in addition to the facts and photos of these places, also refers to the European legal basis and contains recommendations regarding the breeding conditions. With the new publications, the association wants to denounce the way in which the chickens are bred and slaughtered: "In only 32 days (4 times faster than 1950) the chickens reach the weight of 1.4 kg with a growth accelerator and become the Brought to the slaughterhouse in Chantonnay. " The video shows how the animals are hung upside down in the slaughterhouse and up to 240 chickens are killed per minute. In addition, an online petition was started addressed to the French Minister of Agriculture Stéphane Travert and Nicolas Hulot's Ministry of the Environment, calling for an immediate stop to the intensive breeding conditions for chickens.

Other activities

Veggie Challenge

L214 is running an awareness campaign on the vegan-pratique.fr website to promote vegan nutrition. In this context, the association organizes a veggie challenge at regular intervals , in which everyone can participate. The challenge lasts 21 days, participation is free and requires prior registration. During the challenge, participants will receive an email every morning containing a personal nutrition plan for the whole day. By participating, the participants should get to know new and balanced recipes for vegetarian and vegan dishes, how to prepare them and which ingredients are needed for them. The participants, who strictly adhere to their nutrition plan and stick to the entire challenge to the end, will quickly find that it was not that difficult to do without animal products.

Web resources

L214 operates several French information websites, the content of which is under a Creative Commons license:

Web links

Commons : L214  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c L214, the association that unveiled the hell of the slaughterhouses. from: liberation.fr , accessed on October 31, 2017 (French).
  2. ^ Law: "Code rural et de la pêche maritime". In: legifrance.gouv.fr. Retrieved October 31, 2017 (French).
  3. ↑ a b L214: Ethique & Animaux: Presentation. from: l214.com , accessed October 31, 2017
  4. ↑ chicks shredding in a hatchery in France. from: l214.com , accessed November 16, 2017 (French).
  5. ↑ Cruelty to animals: hatchery condemned for killing chicks. from: lemonde.fr , March 8, 2016, accessed November 16, 2017 (French).
  6. ↑ hatchery Saint-François: liquidation proceedings. from: letelegramme.fr , March 2, 2017, accessed on November 17, 2017 (French).
  7. ^ Report on research into foie gras production at Ernest Soulard. from: l214.com , accessed November 19, 2017 (French).
  8. ↑ Further research on foie gras from 2015: In the hell of a hatchery. from: l214.com , accessed November 19, 2017 (French).
  9. ↑ Mink farm revealed: Fur horror in France. on: veganblog.de , accessed on February 25, 2018.
  10. ↑ Stop breeding fur animals. from: l214.com , accessed February 25, 2018 (French).
  11. ^ Petition for a breeding ban for fur animals. from: l214.com , accessed February 25, 2018 (French).
  12. ↑ Animal rights activists accuse slaughterhouse in Metz. on: wort.lu , March 15, 2012, accessed on October 31, 2017
  13. ↑ Charal sued for cruelty to animals. from: nouvelobs.com , September 3, 2009, accessed February 5, 2018 (French)
  14. ↑ Successes in court for L214. from: blogs.mediapart.fr , January 2, 2014, accessed February 5, 2018 (French)
  15. ↑ Charal: rejected and condemned. on: l214.com , January 2, 2014, accessed February 5, 2018 (French)
  16. ^ France discusses cameras in slaughterhouses. on: derStandard.at , accessed on December 16, 2017
  17. ↑ The slaughterhouse has to close: butchers torment horses and cows so cruelly. on: stern.de , accessed on October 31, 2017
  18. ↑ Abattoir d'Alès: 3 years after the scandal, the horror continues. from: fondationbrigittebardot.fr , accessed on May 23, 2018 (French)
  19. ↑ Abused cattle: Slaughterhouse convicted. on: letelegramme.fr , accessed on October 31, 2017 (French).
  20. ↑ New video shows the terrible cruelty to animals in an organic slaughterhouse. from: vice.com , accessed October 31, 2017
  21. ↑ Trial of cruel animals in the slaughterhouse: First legal proceedings in France against workers. from: neue-deutschland.de , accessed on October 31, 2017
  22. ↑ Abuse at Vigan Slaughterhouse: Eight months in prison for a former employee. on: 20minutes.fr , April 28, 2017, accessed February 5, 2018 (French)
  23. ↑ Disregarded rules in the quality slaughterhouse. at: nzz.ch , accessed on November 12, 2017
  24. ↑ Slaughterhouses: "Animal welfare must become as important as hygiene". from: lemonde.fr , accessed on November 12, 2017 (French).
  25. ↑ The trial of the Mauléon slaughterhouse was postponed to September 17th and 18th, 2018. from: larepubliquedespyrenees.fr , accessed April 6, 2018 (French).
  26. ↑ Hidden camera: Slaughterhouse scandal in the south of France. from: riviera-press.fr , accessed on October 31, 2017
  27. ^ Operation "Nuit debout" in front of the slaughterhouse in Puget-Théniers. at: nicematin.com , accessed October 31, 2017
  28. ↑ Newborn calves die in agony in the garbage. A new scandal in French slaughterhouses. from: holidogtimes.com , accessed October 31, 2017
  29. ↑ Slaughter of pregnant cows: Thousands of calves are painfully suffocated in the womb. on: peta.de , accessed on December 16, 2017
  30. ↑ slaughter gravid Cattle: aspects of ethics and consumer health protection. at: researchgate.net , accessed December 16, 2017
  31. ↑ Pregnant animals: “Slaughter ban ” applies from September 1, 2017. from: wir-sind-tierarzt.de , accessed on December 16, 2017
  32. ^ Slaughter of pregnant cattle: criticism of the prohibition law. on: noz.de , accessed on December 16, 2017
  33. ↑ Slaughter of pregnant animals - sharp criticism of the draft law. on: wir-sind-tierarzt.de , accessed on December 16, 2017
  34. ↑ L214 reveals shocking images of the slaughterhouse in Houdan. from: leparisien.fr , accessed on November 2, 2017 (French)
  35. ↑ Houdan: L214 attacks pig slaughterhouse for cruelty to animals. from: leparisien.fr , accessed on November 2, 2017 (French)
  36. ^ France: More surveillance in slaughterhouses. from: nzz.ch , accessed on December 16, 2017
  37. ↑ L214 activists in court - an unbelievable story. from: provegan.info , accessed November 2, 2017
  38. ↑ L214 in court: How far does the right to information of the general public extend? from: leparisien.fr , accessed on November 2, 2017 (French)
  39. ^ Report on the breeding conditions at Groupe Doux. from: l214.com , accessed November 5, 2017 (pdf, French)
  40. ↑ L214: Behind the walls of a breeding and slaughterhouse of the Groupe Doux. from: l214.com , accessed November 5, 2017 (French)
  41. ↑ Vegan Pratique: Veggie Challenge. from: vegan-pratique.fr , accessed on January 26, 2018 (French)