[1] France's farmed animal protections comply with the minimum standards set by the European Union (EU).
In 2005, the French government resisted the EU's ban on testing cosmetics on animals, taking its case to the European Court of Justice, where it was defeated.
The group monitored the birds over time, finding that many lost their feathers and had their beaks trimmed, and that dead hens were left in cages.
[9] France is a major producer of the highly controversial delicacy foie gras, which involves enlarging the livers of geese and ducks by force-feeding them for several weeks.
Several European countries, including Britain, Norway, Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland, and well as the American state of California have banned foie gras production.
[11] Figures on the number of vegans in France are not readily available, though surveys have estimated that roughly 1.5-2% of French identify as vegetarian.
The organization's namesake is the article of the 1976 French rural code which first recognized animals as sentient beings.