The French agriculture ministry issued a statement late Thursday “strongly condemning the unacceptable practices” shown in a video shot at a pig farm and released by animal rights organisation L214.
The statement said an investigation, launched in June following a police complaint, found “non-compliances” at the breeder and is ongoing.
The video shows pigs at the farm Les Tremblats II in the city of Auxerre were left to die without veterinary treatment, had their teeth removed with pliers and were wounded with screwdrivers or electric pods when they refuse to enter their cages.
Piglets were being slammed to death on concrete floors and had their tails and testicles removed.
The footage was made by Grégory Boutron, who worked at the facility. He said working there led to so much stress, nightmares and loss of appetite that he had to turn to a psychiatrist for help.
L214 said in a press release that it saluted “the courage of this employee who decided to make public the serious abuses committed against animals at the Tremblats piggery”.
From January 2022, the ministry’s statement added, farms are obliged to appoint animal welfare officers and that over €200 million from France’s COVID-19 recovery plan has been reserved for improvements in animal farms, including better staff and auditor training.
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