Animal Welfare Groups Expose Alleged Mistreatment of French Cows in Morocco

In a video posted on the internet by four animal welfare NGOs, we see the suffering of a Montbéliarde cow, in December 2019, in Morocco, reports Le Progrès. The description of the video is summarized as: "With a bloody muzzle, the cow has its eyes covered by a burlap sack and is tied to a livestock trailer. The rest of the video also shows a calf, with a bucket on its muzzle to prevent it from sucking its mother".

"No law protects animals in Morocco. The situation in the markets and slaughterhouses there is catastrophic," says Héléna Bauer, author of the images and project manager at Animals’Angels. She explains that French and European exporters claim that the animals they export to Africa are well treated, because they are intended for breeding (like the heifers) and not for slaughter. "But our investigations show that they all end their lives in the same suffering in the livestock markets and the same slaughterhouses," warns Ms. Bauer.

Adeline Colonnat, from the Welfarm association, who participates in the campaign, goes on. "It’s proven, it’s known. Every time we go there, we see the same images, both in transport and on site. We alerted the Ministry of Agriculture about this. No response. We demand that the animals that are exported have the same rights as in France. It’s pure hypocrisy. In Germany, some Lander have banned the export of livestock to countries that do not respect the same regulations," she insists.

Nicolas Perrodin, a breeder and president of Eva Jura, a structure in charge of genetic selection, sale, milk recording, insemination, health prevention around suckler cow herds, contradicts the allegations of the NGOs. "The images show only one Montbéliarde filmed. We don’t know where or when. And it’s taking on incredible proportions. We need to be reasonable," he fumes. "Our cattle are worth much more in the Maghreb countries than with us".

"In the case of pregnant heifers, who produce milk, the breeders from these countries come here to choose the animals they want. It’s not to mistreat them afterwards. Morocco wants dairy self-sufficiency. Their breeders have no reason not to take good care of their herds if they want to produce milk. I went to judge on site. And I saw their willingness to do their job well," he assures.