Anima l Welfare

[Antoinette]

Have been dreaming about living in France for many years, however, just recently I have been doubting about France being the place for me given the attitude towards animals.

Someone said the other day "In France dogs are for hunting, bulls for fighting and horses for eating " !!

Shall I carry on dreaming  or will it all turn into a nightmare.

Incidentally, if hubby and I do come to France we would like to work as volunteers in an animal shelter.

Your thoughts please.

[mossie]

Well I am sure there are lots of animal shelters who will snatch your hand off with the offer of help.  Most are overflowing with unwanted animals and the destruction rate is criminal.  I knew about the fairly parlous state of animal welfare but I still came and I was a volunteer for a dog rescue before I came here (and am also veggie!).  My attitude is, I do what I can, when I can and have to accept what I can't change.  The french simply have a different attitude to animals than we do, in many ways I think a more honest attitude but that does not excuse the cruelty.  However this is balanced by the multitude of good rescue stories that I hear, especially on expat forums, people who go out of their way to help distressed and abandoned animals.  It is a case of being aware of the situation in your chosen area and deciding if you can cope with that or not.  I lived in Yorkshire before I came here which has high levels of animal cruelty, it is not just particular to France.