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Puy-de-Dôme: in Saint Bonnet-près Riom, the “goose neck game” causes controversy
Puy-de-Dôme: in Saint-Bonnet-près-Riom, the “goose neck game” is controversial
(France 2)
For 150 years, in Saint-Bonnet-près-Riom, in Puy-de-Dôme, young people have marked their passage to adulthood by participating in the game of goose neck, which consists of tearing off the heads of dead animals. An animal protection association has taken legal action.
Saint-Bonnet-près-Riom (Puy-de-Dôme), 2,200 inhabitants, is in full preparation for its patronal festival. It will include a parade of floats and, on Sunday, September 22, the game of the goose neck. The tradition is very controversial today. On a horse, young boys of 18 must each take turns tearing off the neck of a dead animal, suspended from a rope. The practice is intended to symbolically mark the entry into adulthood.
The residents met by France Télévisions, who are very attached to the custom, do not understand why it is controversial.She is not suffering, the beast is dead“, says a woman. Asked by opponents, the prefecture did not ban the festival. The mayor (SE), Denis Rougeyron, emphasizes for his part the very ancient nature of the tradition.
Despite the criticism, the game of goose neck should take place, as it does every year. The images filmed by animal rights activists, however, have sparked a wave of indignation.