“The region is sending us a strong signal. “Manadière in the Camargue, Claire Mailhan is part of the association which has been working since 2018 to register the “practices and know-how of the people of bouvine” in the intangible cultural heritage of Unesco. And she welcomes, “at a time when we are attacked from all sides”, the support voted by the regional council of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, this Friday during its plenary assembly. A support not pecuniary but with high symbolic value for, according to the deliberation, to defend “the extreme fragility”, “in the face of globalization”, of the cultures and traditions around the Camargue bull. Among which the Camargue races, but not only.
“The bouvine is a set of communities”, recalls Claire Mailhan, who cites breeders, bullfighting clubs, organizers of shows, as well as “the anonymous person who takes pleasure in wearing the traditional costume” on the days of party, or the one who cultivates “the reeds to cover the roofs of the gardian’s huts”. Not to mention the role played by this extensive farming in the preservation of the landscapes and the ecosystem of the Camargue. “We are trying to pass on all this intangible heritage to future generations”, she assures, hoping for this “strong label from Unesco” to “enhance our practices, our manners and our know-how”.
The charge of animal rights parties
In the hemicycle of the regional council, no voice to relay the tribune published in early January in The world, in which political figures and animal associations call for “reforming the bouvine” and putting an end to “certain archaic practices”. “We never asked to ban bouvine, specifies Eddine Ariztegui, municipal councilor in Montpellier (Animalist Party), at the initiative of the text. The question that the regional assembly should have answered is not for or against bouvine, but for or against these practices. He thus denounces the “abuse”, the “animal suffering” linked to the castration of young bulls, the ferrade (marking with a red iron) and the escoussure (cutting of the ears of a bull according to a pattern specific to each manadier , to distinguish farms).
“We cannot allow Unesco to condone these acts,” he asserts. The ear tag is enough to identify the animal. And it is necessary to make obligatory anesthesia during sterilization. Eddine Ariztegui has filed a petition to this effect on the Senate website, which has so far collected nearly 2,700 signatures – at least 100,000 signatures are needed, within six months, for the Conference of Presidents to be able to decide whether to proceed with it or not. The publication of the tribune had given rise to a major demonstration in Montpellier for “the defense of rurality”.
Shortly before the vote on the deliberation this Friday, the president of the region Renaud Muselier also tastes very little that the RN adviser Eléonore Bez points out to him her absence at this demonstration. “He was officially represented there”, takes care to recall Jean-Pierre Richard, president of the heritage, traditions and regional languages commission, who defended the deliberation and welcomes the fact that “this event brought together more than 15,000 people”. Far from the debates, Claire Mailhan also remembers that day: “The response from the field was very strong. “I have the impression that we are judged by people who don’t know how we work,” she adds. We did not wait for the movement of animal welfare to adapt our actions and have the most serene breeding possible. The association intends to submit the complete file to Unesco at the end of 2023. And by then to have other assemblies that are committed to its side.