Two companies that make up one of the largest pig farms in Brittany (western France), which were prosecuted for “animal cruelty” following a lawsuit filed by the animal rights group L214, were today sentenced by French justice to a fine of €60,000 or each, of which 20,000 euros with suspension.

The two companies, Sarl Kerdoncuff and Scea de Trébeolin, managed by Dominique Kerdoncuff, aged 57, were also banned from owning animals for a period of one year.

The premises of the two companies, which are subsidiaries of the Eureden (formerly Triskalia) group, can house more than 18,000 animals at a time, according to defense lawyer David Le Blanc.

With a staff of around 20 employees, these companies together constitute the second largest pig farming unit in Finistère.

Neither the manager nor his lawyer wanted to comment on the court’s decision.

In November 2019, the L214 organization filed a lawsuit after it released a video showing dirty buildings, animals in cages, in danger, injured or dead.

Investigations by the gendarmerie and the Prefectural Directorate of Population Protection confirmed the video: sows with necrotic wounds, absence of light, animals without care and without access to clean water…

During unannounced inspections in 2019, 2020 and 2021, inspectors came to the same findings, to such an extent that the livestock unit was threatened with suspension of its operation.

“It is the first case that, after 4 years, I cannot confirm the compliance of the unit,” said Loic Gouget, of the Prefectural Directorate for the Protection of Populations of Finisterre, during the hearing.

In court, Kerdonkaff denied any wrongdoing, claiming he does this profession “out of passion” and even alleging a “conspiracy” by the Eureden group vet, who also warned about the situation at the unit, “with management”.