A former candidate of "Love is in the meadow" tried for abandonment of animals

Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: MATHIEU THOMASSET / HANS LUCAS / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP 18:00 pm, September 08, 2023

A 48-year-old farmer, who had participated in the show Love is in the meadow, was tried Friday by the criminal court of Rouen for abandonment of animals. The investigation of flagrance had started in March 2023 following a report made by the DDPP (Departmental Directorate for the Protection of Populations) to the public prosecutor and a seizure of the livestock by the services of the prefecture.

The animals have since been sold by the Brigitte Bardot Foundation and the sum deposited pending the court decision. According to the president, there were 432 animals at the time of the seizure on a 151-hectare farm. "My responsibility is engaged, all my energy was there for the health of my animals, I talk with my cows. I gave everything for my animals," said Laurent Levacher, crying at the bar. "My wish is to get the animals back, but maybe that's a bit unreasonable," he added.

"The offence is perfectly characterized"

The deputy public prosecutor of Rouen, Elise Mallet, requested a sentence of eight months in prison with a complete suspension, and, as an additional penalty, a ban on carrying out any breeding activity on a permanent basis as well as the definitive confiscation of these animals. "Laurent Levacher is not able to exercise his profession satisfactorily," said Elise Mallet. "There were outstretched hands and the offense is perfectly characterized," said the magistrate.

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There were "seventeen handrails for lack of care, 112 handrails for lack of watering, a very high mortality rate, beyond the norm," according to the prosecutor's office. Patrice Grillon, the lawyer of the association Stéphane Lamart, civil party in the trial, estimated that "when there is a seizure, it is because we reach the end of the end, no one has asked him to have such a large herd".

The judgement was reserved until 13 September.

"One wonders where there was love in the meadow, a man who switched in 2019, the same year as the shooting," said the lawyer. "Is this a coincidence? Did he take the big head at that time?" Me Romain Degoutte, who defended the breeder, explained that "the reports of the DDPP are filled with approximations, shortcuts and excess of zeal, I can not help but make a link with its notoriety. The offence of abandonment is nowhere in this case," he said. The judgement was reserved until 13 September.