The owners are prosecuted and face up to 15,000 euro fine and a year in prison …
During a search in connection with a fraud case, the Gendarmes of Chinon in Indre-et-Loire made a strange discovery well on Tuesday morning. On the terrace of the house, they seized thirteen hedgehogs curled up in a small cage. These small mammals were destined to finish … on the plates.
A protected species
“The future of these little creatures seemed bleak, indeed they were the future lunch their captors,” said gendarmerie Indre-et-Loire on his Facebook account.
@holland_tom Chinon gendarmes rescue hedgehogs from Chinese restaurant.#Hedgehogs https://t.co/pFSzKdNaRq… pic.twitter.com/AIM2FRiWGr
— OksanaH (@oksana304) February 24, 2016
If this story may seem a bit unusual, it is taken very seriously by the police. “A procedure has been established and will be forwarded to the judicial authority, which will decide what action to take,” said the police. It has also not fail to recall on social networks that the Hedgehog was a protected species.
Les gendarmes de Chinon libèrent 13 hérissons capturés pour être mangés=Des français survivent-ils comme des N-coréens en mangeant des rats?
— Ascensi (@ascensi) February 24, 2016
Up to 15,000 euro fine
It is forbidden to destroy, to transport, to naturalize, to put it on sale … and of course eating! All these offenses can be punished by a fine of €15,000 and one year imprisonment.
In 2008 near Bordeaux, two members of the community “of Travellers’ were sentenced to 6,000 euros fine for the detention of a dozen hedgehogs doomed to end up as food, according to Gypsy custom.
