A clandestine slaughterhouse, with mistreated animals and carcasses lying on the ground. This is what a dozen police officers discovered during the control of a sheep farm near Cholet (Maine-et-Loire), in January 2020. This Friday, the owner of the farm will be tried for abuse in court from Angers. The animal protection association Stéphane Lamart has filed a civil action.
According to her, some 147 animals had been found “in a state of severe abuse”, before being entrusted to an association. “The police picked up 12 dead sheep in a state of putrefaction (…). Seven sheep were euthanized on the spot by the veterinary services because of their state of health”, continues the association.
At the time, the Maine-et-Loire police also indicated that they had noted “multiple other offenses”, such as “concealed work”, “possession of undeclared weapons”, or “irregular management of waste “. Several dozen vehicles, including wrecks, had been seized.