In a new video posted by the L214 association, you can see sick ducks, sometimes dying, some are left dead on the ground, in deplorable hygienic conditions. According to animal rights activists, these images were shot in a force-feeding room located in Lacapelle-Marival, in the Lot, whose production is intended to be marketed by the La Quercynoise group. It notably supplies the brands Maistres Occitans, Clos Saint Sozy and Maison Occitane, lists in the video Alexandra Rosenfeld, ex-miss France involved in issues of animal abuse.
This new video aims to denounce the conditions of breeding and force-feeding, in particular the canes which are now used to make foie gras due to the massive slaughter of ducks during the episodes of avian flu which affected France.
“Yet very hostile to the force-feeding of ducks, the foie gras sector is changing its tune this year by force-feeding females following the shortage of ducklings due to avian flu. However, the French foie gras charter stipulates that “only foie gras obtained from males can be marketed”. In addition, force-feeding is a source of additional injuries and suffering for female ducks, who are more nervous and more prone to heart disease than males,” L214 said in a statement, announcing that a complaint was to be filed with the public prosecutor of Cahors.
Asked by France 3 Occitania, Pierre-Olivier Prévot, the general manager of Capel, the breeders’ cooperative that owns La Quercynoise, indicated that the structure was subject to checks and monitoring by veterinarians. “Whatever the conditions, whatever the situation, we have the same rules and there is no reason for it to happen like this,” he assured, indicating that he had not been able to determine where, when and under what conditions these videos were shot. And that they do not “reflect the reality of French waterfowl breeding”.