A police officer or a gendarme will be trained and designated as a referent on issues of animal abuse in the 4,000 police stations and gendarmerie brigades in France, Gérald Darmanin announced on Friday.

The Minister of the Interior thus confirms information from the Parisian who explains that this initiative aims to facilitate the denunciation of abuse inflicted on animals.


Animals are vulnerable, sentient beings who deserve our protection.

The acts of violence they sometimes suffer are unbearable.

This is why I decided to strengthen the means of fighting against this violence that the French no longer accept ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/akULEODfre

– Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) January 27, 2023

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These referents will be "particularly trained to take complaints to fully understand the law that applies" and to "well receive the people who would come to denounce these acts", declared to the press Gérald Darmanin, during a trip to a site. of the SPA in Chamarande (Essonne).

According to a source close to the minister, interviewed by the Ile-de-France daily, listening to complainants will thus be improved.

" It's not sufficient "

Since January, 15 police investigators and gendarmes attached to the Central Office for the fight against attacks on the environment and public health (Oclaesp) have joined a new service specializing in the fight against animal abuse.

For Hélène Thouy, lawyer and co-president of the animalist party, "it's not enough", relays RMC.

"It's going in the right direction, but the resources aren't there given the scale of the problem."

"They did everything to defeat the law on bullfighting, gave big gifts to hunters, nothing for farm animals... And there we give a few crumbs, it's progress but far from enough", she continues.

Dogs more affected than cats

In France, 12,000 offenses targeting domestic animals, tamed or held in captivity were recorded in 2021 by the police and the gendarmerie, up 30% since 2016, according to figures from Beauvau.



According to

Le Parisien

, dogs are the most affected with 46% of cases of abuse in 2021, compared to 24% for cats.

The perpetrators of the abuse are overwhelmingly men and it is the women who make the reports.

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  • Company

  • Gerald Darmanin

  • Animals

  • Animal cruelty

  • Police

  • Gendarmerie