Brigitte Bardot Foundation

Fondation Brigitte Bardot
Fondation Brigitte Bardot
AbbreviationFBB
Founded1986
FounderBrigitte Bardot
TypeFoundation
Legal statusRecognised as a public utility foundation (France)
FocusAnimal welfare
Animal rights
Headquarters28, rue Vineuse
75116 Paris, France
Region served
France and international
MethodsLobbying
Animal shelter
Campaigning
International support to partner NGOs
Members75,000[1]
Websitefondationbrigittebardot.fr

The Fondation Brigitte Bardot (Fondation Brigitte Bardot; FBB) is a French animal-protection foundation created in 1986 by actress and activist Brigitte Bardot. It has been recognised in France as a foundation “of public utility” (French: Déclaration d'utilité publique) since 21 February 1992.[2] The foundation’s work spans sheltering and rescuing animals, advocacy and public campaigning in France and internationally, and support for partner organisations.[3]


History

Bardot's initial involvement with animal rights was in 1962, after seeing photographs of the conditions in which animals were killed. Upon this, Bardot immediately began advocating against the use of painful electric shock pistols in slaughterhouses,[4] and became a vegetarian.[5] In 1967, Bardot was received at the Élysée Palace where she met with Charles de Gaulle, the then president of France. It was a few years later that Bardot obtained the "stunning before slaughter" rights from the government.

In 1977, Bardot went on to campaign against the hunting of baby Harp seals. Upon invitation from Paul Watson, of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Bardot embarked on a five day trip to the ice fields in Blanc-Sablon, Canada, receiving significant media attention. In addition, the trip also gained Bardot the support of French president, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, leading to changes regarding the import of seal products.

Launch and recognition as public utility (1986–1992)

The foundation was created in 1986 in Saint-Tropez. Contemporary reporting and later accounts describe Bardot financing the launch through an auction of personal items and jewellery in order to raise the initial capital required for the organisation.[6]

In 1988, the foundation moved its headquarters to Paris. In 1991, Bardot donated her Saint-Tropez property La Madrague to increase the foundation’s capital, a step taken in connection with obtaining official recognition as a public utility foundation.[7] The recognition was granted on 21 February 1992.[2]

In 1991, Bardot donated her Saint Tropez property, La Madrague, to the foundation so as to raise the capital required to obtain a declaration of public utility. The declaration was granted on 21 February 1992, by the Conseil d'État.

Development and oversight (1993–present)

In 1995, the Dalai Lama became an honorary member of the foundation.[8][9]

In 2019, the French Court of Audit (Cour des comptes) publicly criticised the foundation for governance dysfunctions and insufficient transparency towards donors, prompting renewed media attention to its management practices.[10][1]

Activities

The foundation has helped create shelters for elephants in South Africa, koalas in Australia, dancing bears in Bulgaria, and primates in Cameroon. It has also reintroduced several animal species that had completely disappeared in Senegal and participated in the reintroduction of wolves to the Alps.[11] A mobile veterinary clinic has also been created for the Eastern Bloc countries.

The foundation is a regular plaintiff in lawsuits against animal cruelty. In January 2016, to support the proposition of a law to ban force-feeding on ducks and geese, the foundation invited Pamela Anderson to speak at the French National Assembly.[12]

While funding other French animal shelters, the foundation has also created its own shelter, La Mare Anzou, located in a ruined mansion in the department of Eure in Normandy.[13] It covers several hectares, where 200 dogs and 250 cats wait for adoption. This shelter is also a "retirement home" for several horses, cows, etc. After complaints from local residents about noise nuisance threatened to close the shelter in 2009,[14] the foundation began soundproofing construction, investing 3 million euros to date.[15]

In 2009, the foundation launched a campaign against hippophagy titled Le cheval vous l'aimez comment? ( "The horse, how do you like it?").[16] The foundation was banned from the Salon du Cheval (Paris Horse Show), the organizers of the event stating, "This is not a place to develop a view point on hippophagy".[17] In the winter of this year, the foundation launched Fourrure: signe extérieur de cruauté ("Fur: external sign of cruelty"), a national campaign of posters and television spots against fur. The French fur association attempted to ban these advertisements, without success. In December 2005, a new communication campaign Fourrure, le look qui tue ("Fur, the look that kills") was launched in France. The foundation has also supported the yearly "day without fur," on every first Saturday of winter sales since 2007.[18]

In 2011, the boat MV Brigitte Bardot, co-financed by the foundation and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society of Paul Watson, was damaged by a wave. It was repaired and put back on the water the next year. In 2015, it was exhibited in Paris after a campaign in the Faroe Islands to save the cetaceans.[19]

Facilities

The foundation owns and operates animal shelters in France and provides financial support to other refuges. One of its best-known facilities is La Mare Auzou in the department of Eure (Normandy), described in French media as a large refuge receiving dogs, cats and other animals awaiting adoption.[20]

Newsletter and public statements

Since 1992 the foundation has published a quarterly newsletter, L'Info-journal.[21]

On 23 December 2006, Brigitte Bardot published a letter to Nicolas Sarkozy in the Foundation's newsletter, L'info-journal (published every trimester since 1992), condemning the practice of the Eid al-Adha in France. This caused her be charged with and later fined for incitement to racial hatred.[22]

Goals

The foundation lists a range of animal-protection priorities, including opposition to the captivity of wild animals (for example in circuses), the fur trade, hippophagy, long-distance transport of livestock, animal experimentation, poaching, animal fighting, and campaigns related to whaling, seal hunting, and the management of stray animals (including sterilisation programmes).[23]


See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Éditorial de Brigitte Bardot pour les 25 ans de la Fondation". fondationbrigittebardot.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 2019-04-20.
  2. ^ a b "Journal officiel de la République française – Lois et décrets (22/02/1992), recognition of public utility for the Fondation Brigitte Bardot". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). Par décret en date du 21 février 1992, la fondation dite Fondation Brigitte Bardot, dont le siège est 4, rue Franklin, à Paris (16e), est reconnue comme établissement d'utilité publique. Sont approuvés les statuts de cette fondation tels qu'ils sont annexés au présent décret (1). (1) Les statuts peuvent être consultés à la préfecture du lieu du siège social. [By decree dated February 21, 1992, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, whose registered office is located at 4 rue Franklin, Paris (16th arrondissement), is recognized as a public-benefit organization. The statutes of this foundation, as annexed to this decree (1), are approved. (1) The statutes may be consulted at the prefecture of the location of the registered office.]{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  3. ^ "21 février 1992 : la Fondation Brigitte Bardot est reconnue d'utilité publique". fondationbrigittebardot.fr (in French). 1992, c'est aussi l'achat et l'aménagement de « la Mare Auzou », 1er refuge de la Fondation Brigitte Bardot qui accueillait initialement une petite centaine de chiens pour devenir, 30 ans après, l'un des refuges les plus exemplaires de France avec une multitude d'animaux recueillis, chiens, chats, rongeurs, cochons, chevaux… une véritable ménagerie où tout est pensé pour le bien-être des animaux recueillis. [1992 also saw the purchase and renovation of "La Mare Auzou," the Brigitte Bardot Foundation's first shelter. Initially housing around one hundred dogs, it has become, 30 years later, one of the most exemplary shelters in France, caring for a multitude of animals: dogs, cats, rodents, pigs, horses… a veritable menagerie where everything is designed for the well-being of the animals in its care.]{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  4. ^ "En 1962, Brigitte Bardot dénonçait les conditions d'abattage du bétail". ina.fr (in French). Sa prise de conscience est née dans une émission télévisée, au début des années 1960, le jour où elle dénonça publiquement les conditions de mise à mort dans les abattoirs. [Her awakening to animal welfare began during a television program in the early 1960s, when she publicly denounced the conditions of slaughter in abattoirs.]{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  5. ^ Brigitte Bardot (1996-09-24). Initiales B.B. : Mémoires. Grasset. ISBN 978-2246526018.
  6. ^ "Brigitte Bardot met aux enchères ses souvenirs". Le Monde (in French). 1987-07-18.
  7. ^ "BB: "J'ai tout prévu pour que la fondation me survive"". Paris Match (in French). 26 September 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  8. ^ "La fondation Brigitte-Bardot" (in French). Archived from the original on 2025-01-26. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  9. ^ Goujon, Michel (2019). La Recluse : Le mystère Brigitte Bardot (in French). Plon. ISBN 978-2-259-27826-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  10. ^ "Manque de transparence, risques de conflits d'intérêts… la Fondation Brigitte-Bardot épinglée par la Cour des comptes". Capital.fr (in French). 2019-11-20. Une gouvernance à revoir de toute urgence Dans son rapport, la Cour des comptes énumère plusieurs dysfonctionnements de la gouvernance de la Fondation Brigitte Bardot. Par exemple, si la chanteuse a le statut de présidente-fondatrice de cette organisation créée en 1986, elle "n'a été formellement élue présidente du bureau qu'en décembre 2017". Le règlement intérieur de la fondation, pourtant prévu dans les statuts approuvés par le décret du 21 février 1992, qui reconnaît la fondation comme établissement d'utilité publique, n'a quant à lui, jamais été adopté. [Governance in Urgent Need of Review In its report, the Court of Auditors lists several governance dysfunctions at the Brigitte Bardot Foundation. For example, while the singer holds the status of founding president of this organization, created in 1986, she “was only formally elected chair of the board in December 2017.” The foundation’s internal regulations, though stipulated in the statutes approved by the decree of February 21, 1992, which recognizes the foundation as a public-benefit organization, have never been adopted.]{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  11. ^ "Rapport fait au nom de la commission d'enquête sur les conditions de la présence du loup en France et l'exercice du pastoralisme dans les zones de montagne" (in French). National Assembly. 2 May 2003.
  12. ^ Beaudoin (20 January 2016). "Pamela Anderson met le feu à l'Assemblée Nationale". Paris Match (in French). Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  13. ^ Ollivry, Maryvonne (26 September 2011). "Fondation Brigitte Bardot : le combat continue !". Paris Match (in French).
  14. ^ Beaudoin (23 April 2015). "Le refuge de Brigitte Bardot en danger". Paris Match (in French). Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  15. ^ "Un expert est missionné" (PDF) (in French). Official website of the Fondation Brigitte Bardot. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  16. ^ Ribaut, Jean-Claude (4 December 2009). "Vous aimez le cheval ? Mangez-en !". Le Monde (in French).
  17. ^ "Salon du Cheval : Brigitte Bardot privée de stand anti-viande chevaline" (in French). Europe 1. 3 December 2007.
  18. ^ "Journée Sans Fourrure le 10 janvier 2015" (in French). Official website of the Fondation Brigitte Bardot. Archived from the original on 26 April 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  19. ^ "Le navire de Sea Shepherd, le Brigitte Bardot, est arrivé aux îles Féroé" (in French). Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Archived from the original on 11 May 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  20. ^ "Fondation Brigitte Bardot : la Mare Auzou dans l'Eure victime de son succès". france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr (in French). 2012-10-05. La Mare Auzou est un refuge de la fondation Brigitte Bardot créé en 1992 dans l'Eure. La Fondation tient à rappeler que le refuge est au complet et ne peut plus accueillir d'animaux supplémentaires. [La Mare Auzou is a Brigitte Bardot Foundation animal shelter established in 1992 in the Eure department. The Foundation wishes to remind the public that the shelter is full and can no longer accept any more animals.]{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  21. ^ "ISSN 1165-0729". portal.issn.org. ISSN : 1165-0729 BnF (France) Key-title Info journal - Fondation Brigitte Bardot Resource information Title proper: Info journal. Country: France Medium: Print Record information Last modification date: 20/06/2005 Type of record: Confirmed ISSN Center responsible of the record: ISSN National Centre for France{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  22. ^ "Bardot fined over racial hatred". BBC News. 2008-06-03. A French court has fined former film star Brigitte Bardot 15,000 euros (£12,000) for inciting racial hatred.
    She was prosecuted over a letter published on her website that complained Muslims were "destroying our country by imposing their ways".
    It is the fifth time Ms Bardot been convicted over her controversial remarks about Islam and its followers. This is her heaviest fine so far.    {{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  23. ^ "Fondation Brigitte Bardot – official website". fondationbrigittebardot.fr (in French). La Fondation Brigitte Bardot c'est :pays où la FBB est présente 70 animaux pris en charge+ de 11 200 enquêtes juridiques en 2023 1600 refuges 4 [The Brigitte Bardot Foundation is: countries where the FBB is present 70 animals in care more than 11,200 legal investigations in 2023 1,600 shelters 4]{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
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