The elected representative of Montpellier Eddine Ariztegui (Animalist Party) is at the initiative of a forum, published on the site of
Le Monde
, aimed at reforming the bouvine.
In particular, he no longer wants bulls to be branded with hot irons in herds, and he wants them to be put to sleep before being sterilized.
The approach ulcerates the professionals of the sector.
"It's an attack on our work!"
Little by little, we will disappear!
And then, how does that concern them?
Animal welfare is us.
Ecology is us,” confides a herault manadier.
After the unsuccessful attempt to ban bullfighting in the fall, another bullfighting tradition is in the sights of animal defenders: the bullfight.
And, in particular, the Camargue race.
In these games, very popular in Hérault, Gard, Bouches-du-Rhône and Vaucluse, daredevils jump into the arena to try to recover attributes from the bull.
Unlike bullfighting, there is no killing.
Once the raseteurs have challenged it, the animal returns to the meadow.
But if there is no bloodshed, for the Animalist Party, the bouvine must however be reformed.
This Tuesday, during a press conference, Eddine Ariztegui (Animalist Party), the elected representative of Montpellier (Hérault) at the origin of a tribune published on the site of
Le Monde
, signed by around fifty personalities and associations, explained why he wanted this tradition to be reviewed and corrected.
“We are not asking for the abolition of bouvine, specifies Eddine Ariztegui.
We ask that it be reformed, that abuses” practiced on bulls be prohibited.
And first of all, the ferrade, which consists in marking, in the herds, the animals with a hot iron, heated in embers or fire.
“Acts of torture”
The elected official also denounces the escoussure, during which the breeder cuts the ear of a calf, according to a pattern specific to each herd.
"Alive", laments Eddine Ariztegui.
“These are abuses, great suffering, acts of torture”, notes the elected official.
“It is, moreover, completely useless.
Some manadiers have stopped these practices from another age.
To identify the animals, the representative of the Animalist Party proposes that the bulls be provided with small medals, in the ear.
But it is above all the sterilization methods that make animal defenders tremble.
"There, we reach the pinnacle of horror," says Eddine Ariztegui.
According to the elected official, some manadiers break “the sperm ducts”.
“Sometimes it doesn't work.
And in these cases, some proceed to an ablation of the testicles.
Alive, ”recalls the municipal councilor.
“Be careful, not all managers use these methods.
But some, yes.
For us, it is unacceptable to tolerate these acts of torture.
A third method, for calves, denounces Eddine Ariztegui, consists of placing a rubber band around the testicles, so that they are no longer irrigated, and end up "falling off".
“We are asking for the prohibition of ferrade and escoussure, and the obligation to put bulls to sleep during sterilizations.
»
“We are asking for a change in practices”
In addition, the signatories require that protections be put in place, on the bulls, to prevent them from being injured by the hooks used by the raseteurs to recover the attributes.
“We are asking for a change in practices, for animal welfare.
We want an empathic bouvine, who takes care of the bulls, ”notes Coralie Mantion (EELV), vice-president of the metropolis who supports the approach.
These claims, of course, are not to the liking of cattle professionals.
This Tuesday, elected officials and representatives of the Camargue race expressed their dissatisfaction, in front of the Press Club, where the press conference of the Animalist Party was taking place.
Tempers flared somewhat when they were refused entry, reserved for journalists.
"After the debate on bullfighting, we felt that all our traditions were going to be attacked", confides Jean-Pierre Rico (New centre), the mayor of Pérols, who recently erected a huge statue of a bull at the entrance to his common.
“It is completely unacceptable.
If we let that pass, little by little, we will put our whole arm through it.
We have to show that we are attached to our traditions.
If there is to be any reform, it must come from us.
»
“There is nothing to reform”
“Everything that is done is done within the framework of the law, points out Nicolas Triol, the president of the French Federation of the Camargue race.
It is a federal institution, attached to the Ministry of Sports since 1975, which benefits from a ministerial approval renewed for eight years last year.
For the boss of the Camargue race, there is no question that “people who know nothing about what we are doing” interfere in the work of breeders and herdsmen.
"A majority of herdsmen are totally committed to things being done according to the rules of the art and so that the animals do not suffer", notes Nicolas Triol.
OUR FILE ON BULLFIGHTING
For Claude Chaballier, manadier in Marsillargues (Hérault), "there is nothing to reform", in the bouvine.
This approach, “it is an attack on our work!
Little by little, we will disappear!
And, then, how does that concern them?
Animal welfare is us.
Ecology is us.
The signatories of the forum aimed at reforming the bouvine expressly ask Unesco not to accept that the know-how of professionals in the sector be recognized, as they would like, as intangible heritage.
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