French Court Fines Power Grid For Harming Animals
FRANCE: November 18, 2008
PARIS - A French court has ruled that power grid RTE must pay 390,000 euros
(US$493,200) to a farming family after a high-voltage line caused its
animals to fall sick, a prosecutor said on Monday.
State-run RTE, an arm of EDF, said it would appeal against the decision, a
first for France and which could open the floodgates to similar claims.
The court of Tulle in southwest France said it had requested RTE to pay for
the damage caused after it placed a high-voltage line above a farm in the
village of Latronche in the Correze department.
"The decision was made after proof was gathered by a family of farmers over
the last 10 years and farmers who have always been considered in the
agricultural world to be excellent," Etienne Manteaux, the court prosecutor
told Reuters.
"Even if this wasn't proved scientifically and with certainty, the judge
considered there was no other possibility," Manteaux said.
A high-voltage line was set up above the farm in 1943 to transport
electricity from the nearby hydroelectric dam of L'Aigle but cows and pigs
showed worsening health problems when a fifth turbine was added to the dam
in the late 1980s, Serge Marcouyoux, a member of the family said.
"From then on it got worse and worse," Marcouyoux said. "We had to shut our
pigsty because we couldn't stop piglets from dying and the line provoked
ulcers and bleeding on our 50 dairy cows and muscular paralysis in our
heifers. Many died and became less productive," he added.
The high voltage line, 30 metres away from the house, caused respiratory
problems for the 34-year old farmer and deafness in his 57-year old mother
and 59-year old father, Marcouyoux said.
Marcouyoux said his symptoms stopped when he moved into a caravan further
away from the site.
Asked whether other neighbouring farmers had had similar problems, he
replied: "Yes, but they refused to bring RTE to court. They are waiting for
one farmer to go all the way before following through."
(Reporting by Muriel Boselli)
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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