Thank you so much Stella. I will consider it.
Thank you Misty. That is really helpful. It is good to know that it IS the Maire who should take responsibilty.
Another idea is to go back to the Maire⊠explain that you have seen the Gendarmes and would like (in the first instance) the Maire to act as Mediator between you and the neighbour.
If not he himself, then I would expect him to designate a councillor, to go and chat with the neighbour and report back⊠(this is what happens in our commune)⊠and then the Maire can make a decision on how best to proceed⊠and whether or not the Gendarmes must take action.
Frankly, every effort is made by the Mairie and the Gendarmes⊠to have things solved amicably⊠but sometimes this simply cannot be done⊠and that is when things can become difficult and each side (eg you and the neighbour) need to be sure of your Rights in the situation.
On the same site there is this âŠ
Le vétérinaire sanitaire
Article R221-9 du Code Rural
« Toute personne qui Ă©lĂšve ou dĂ©tient soit des animaux de rente, domestiques ou sauvages, soit des animaux de compagnie assujettis Ă des mesures de prophylaxie collective doit dĂ©signer et faire connaĂźtre au prĂ©fet du dĂ©partement oĂč est situĂ© son exploitation ou son Ă©tablissement le vĂ©tĂ©rinaire sanitaire quâelle habilite Ă pratiquer, pour chaque espĂšce animale quâelle possĂšde ou dĂ©tient, les opĂ©rations de prophylaxie collective et de police sanitaire. Il lui est toutefois possible de dĂ©signer, sans autre prĂ©cision, lâensemble des vĂ©tĂ©rinaires sanitaires exerçant au sein dâune mĂȘme structure juridique enregistrĂ©e par lâordre des vĂ©tĂ©rinaires.
Le vétérinaire choisi peut refuser cette désignation.
Au cas oĂč lâĂ©leveur refuse ou omet de procĂ©der Ă cette dĂ©signation, ou si aucun vĂ©tĂ©rinaire sanitaire sollicitĂ© ne lâa acceptĂ©e, il y est pourvu dâoffice par le prĂ©fet. Le vĂ©tĂ©rinaire sanitaire ainsi dĂ©signĂ© ne peut refuser cette commission.
Le changement de vĂ©tĂ©rinaire sanitaire peut ĂȘtre demandĂ© au prĂ©fet par lâĂ©leveur entre deux campagnes de prophylaxie, sous rĂ©serve, dâune part, de justifier du bon Ă©tat sanitaire de ses animaux et, dâautre part, dâavoir entiĂšrement rĂ©glĂ© au vĂ©tĂ©rinaire en fonction les sommes qui lui sont dues au titre de ses interventions dans le cadre de son mandat sanitaire.
Le vétérinaire sanitaire peut également demander au préfet de mettre fin à ses interventions dans une exploitation au titre de son mandat ».
Toute personne qui dĂ©tient un animal appartenant Ă lâespĂšce bovine, ovine, porcine ou caprine (les dĂ©tenteurs dâĂ©quidĂ©s ne sont pas concernĂ©s) est obligĂ©e de dĂ©clarer au prĂ©fet ( dans les faits Ă la Direction dĂ©partementale des services vĂ©tĂ©rinaires) le vĂ©tĂ©rinaire sanitaire qui sera chargĂ© de suivre les animaux et de les soumettre aux mesures de prophylaxies collectives obligatoires. Cette mesure sâapplique bien entendu aux Ă©leveurs, mais Ă©galement aux particuliers qui dĂ©tiennent un ou plusieurs animaux de ferme appartenant aux espĂšces citĂ©es ci-dessus, pour leur autoconsommation ou leur agrĂ©ment. Cette obligation est prĂ©vue par lâarticle R. 221-9 du Code Rural reproduit ci-contre. Lâarticle L. 214-16 du Code Rural prĂ©cise que sâil trouve des locaux insalubres pour les animaux, le vĂ©tĂ©rinaire sanitaire doit indiquer les mesures Ă prendre ; en cas dâinexĂ©cution, il doit adresser au maire et au prĂ©fet un rapport dans lequel il fait connaĂźtre les mesures de dĂ©sinfection et de nettoyage quâil a recommandĂ©es et quâil juge utiles pour y remĂ©dier. Lorsque vous ĂȘtes confrontĂ© Ă un cas oĂč les animaux sont dans des locaux insalubres ou sâils souffrent de mauvais traitements, nous vous conseillons dâalerter le vĂ©tĂ©rinaire sanitaire.
Oops went too quickly ⊠I was going to say that faced with all these codes etc; The Maire might realise that you just cannot be âbrushed offâ. The Maire has quite a bit of authority and power and should act. Maybe he is friendly with the Doctor and doesnât want to âstirâ things, but itâs unacceptable to have to put up with this situation and he should act, and quickly. Itâs a health hazard and a maltreatment of animals too so the doctor is infringing several laws!
Good luck !
Hello Elaine
I feel for you. Itâs horrible to see animals mistreated. If all else fails then maybe consider the SPA, link below, which is the French equivalent of the RSPCA.
I hope you get this resolved.
Really sorry to hear about all that. I know how traumatic it can be even without additional hassle from others xx
I spoke to a friend who has sent photos to his farm inspector friend. The place where they are dumping these poor beasts is entirely inappropriate - it is by the roadside where families walk their dogs .The farmer will be reprimanded or worse - what he is doing is highly irresponsible.
Pig farmers have few friends round here: itâs not just their systematic abuse of animals that makes enemies but also their reckless dumping of waste and chemicals.
In the mountains around us, the vultures do a brilliant job, but not practical to have them everywhere
Vultures deal with Parsi dead in Bombay, I used to live right by the Towers of Silence on Malabar Hill.
Woops! Thought this was the discussion about French food.
Guess not. Iâm outa here!!
In France when a farm animal dies the Farmer has to transport the carcase to the limits of his property and leave it there for collection by the companies authorised for the collection and disposal of carcases. The carcase has to be left in a location where the collecting truck can reach it with its lifting arm (not a great reach). By law, the disposal trucks are not allowed to enter farms because they could transmit diseases from the other carcases they are carrying. When one of our llamas died recently we had to town the carcase to the boundary of our property and leave it on the floor (under cover) for them to be able to collect, the truck use a crane and grabber to lift the carcase into the rear of the truck and then the top is sealed. Unfortunately because of an administrative error our dead llama lay in the boiling sun for 4 days before collection and it was quite upsetting for people to watch the collection taking place (cars were stopped behind the truck). Hope this explains why you sometimes see carcases laying at roadsides outside of farms.
According to our farm inspector this constitutes a public health hazard - particularly where it is open to children, pet animals and wildlife.
The dead pigs we are talking about were finally collected seven days after they were deposited uncovered by the roadside (we have photographic evidence). The stench was awful and the decomposition could clearly be seen. We also have evidence that he is a serial offender.
If we allow this we might as well allow open sewers and fly tipping.
What is the Farm Inspector going to do?
(We are following your progress, as this subject is of interest to so many of us.}
As far as I know itâs about how the animals are stored and covered which makes it problematic. He also has another âroadsideâ which is more private and less likely to be encountered by cats, dogs and children.
Goodness, the cats and dogs (etc) in your area must be very well behaved⊠if they will leave a corpse alone⊠wherever it isâŠ
I do hope the Farm Inspector is able to get things properly sorted out for you.
They donât - which is why it is a serious offence to leave corpses uncovered for so long.
As you have already intimated⊠this neighbour is a repeat offender⊠so I really do hope that it works out well⊠and that your perseverance pays off.
You will become a local hero.
This is from the DEFRA (U.K.) website. The farm inspector said more or less the same thing:
âIf you are a farmer, you are responsible for the safe and legal collection disposal of your fallen stock (dead livestock)âŠWhile waiting for your fallen stock to be collected, you must ensure that animals and birds canât access the carcass. Bins can be used a temporary store for fallen stock, especially during times of high mortality. The bins must be kept clean and disinfected, and they must have lids and be leakproof.â
awful man