In Bulgnéville, in the Vosges, the Ermitage cheese factory announced on Wednesday November 27 the suspension “as a precautionary principle” of its supplies with the breeder implicated by the animal defense association L214. The latter published, on Tuesday, images from, according to it, the exploitation of a breeder from Haute-Marne working with the cooperative. In this film shot in October, activists denounce the confinement of 160 dairy cows, as well as unsuitable living conditions to the animal: beatings with sticks, soiled and slippery floors, no contact with the outside, unsanitary premises, untreated wounds, etc. “Atrocious living conditions”summarizes Camille Martins co-referent L214 in Meurthe-et-Moselle and the Vosges.
The Ermitage cheese factory has launched an internal investigation to shed light on the accusations made by L214. The result is expected next week. The Haute-Marne prefecture, requested by us, indicates in a press release, “that the checks carried out this Tuesday do not reveal any acts of mistreatment and that this breeding is not unfavorably known to the veterinary services. No complaints relating to animal mistreatment have been received during the last five years”. The breeder in question supplies 1.5 million liters of milk per year, out of the 500 million collected by the group.
