France
Foie Gras
France is famous for its production of foie gras, a controversial product obtained through forced feeding birds with boiled corn and fat. Although most EU countries have already banned the production of foie gras for ethical reasons, according to French law "foie gras belongs to the protected cultural and gastronomic heritage of France".
Musk perfume
Musk is used in various perfumes produced and sold in the country and for this, more than 1,000 kilograms of musk is exported each year from Ethiopia to France. This substance is obtained from a gland of a civet, an animal captured from the wild and kept in small cages on the farms that produce this substance. Musk extraction is extremely painful for the civets, which, in addition to being deprived of their freedom, suffer in deplorable living conditions. So even if it is a traditional product, it is important for tourists not to promote this market and not to buy perfumes that include this substance.
Bullfighting
Bullfighting also takes place in southern France. Both Spanish-style bullfights and local bullfights are organized. The bullfighting season in France is from February to October.
In Spanish style bullfights, more than 1000 bulls are killed per year. The Spanish bullfighting industry is clearly present in southern France and the bulls themselves come from Spain and France.
The city with the most prominent bullfighting traditions in France is Nîmes, where there is also a bullfighting school. In general, the country has 35 farms and three more bullfighting schools, with famous bullfighters such as Sebastian Castella or Juan Bautista and legendary bullrings such as Arles, Dax, Saintes-Mairies de la Mer or Nîmes. Other cities where bullfighting occurs are Arles, Béziers, Bayonne and Carcassonne.
In several regions of the country, an activity called “Bull Swimming Pool” is also popular, in which a young bull is harassed by several young people while in an inflatable pool inside an arena.
On April 22, 2011, France was the first country to declare bullfighting intangible cultural heritage.
More information here.
Horse carriage rides
Romantic and nostalgic horse carriage rides are not so enjoyable for the animals, which are forced to work long hours, dragging heavy loads and often enduring extreme weather conditions.
Numerous animals spend all day exploited beyond their limits, while taking tourists through complicated terrain at bargain prices, often in the sun, with little shade, water and rest. These animals suffer from sunstrokes, wounds, beatings and injuries as a result of these "tourist experiences" and the economic benefit that their owners can gain from these activities is always above their animals´ welfare.
Horse carriages can have accidents with other vehicles, especially in cities with heavy traffic. The animals are usually trotting, which is too high a speed, as if it stops suddenly the carriage could crash into the animal. Moreover, the little rest that the animals get is usually in blocks located in the center of the city and, often, in inappropriate conditions.
Dolphinariums
In this country you can also find centers which keep cetaceans (dolphins, killer whales or beluga whales) in captivity. Science has shown that these intelligent animals suffer greatly in the limiting conditions of dolphinariums and their stress levels and mortality rates are very high.
The training of these animals for circus shows where they perform totally unnatural behaviors, and which can harm them physically, is achieved through keeping the animals in a permanent state of hunger so that they act in exchange for a piece of dead fish.
Condemned by their facial structure, which resembles a human smile, these highly social animals, which would swim long distances and dive into great depths in the wild, are used to perform stunts in small concrete tanks. Many of these individuals are taken from the wild. More information.
Recommended rescue centers: VILLAGE DE TORTUES
Animal protection entities in France
