ROCHEFORT, France — A French duck farmer has been given a one-month suspended sentence and fined 500 euros (680 dollars) after feeding cannabis to his birds, saying it was an excellent dewormer.
The farmer from the village of Gripperie-Saint-Symphorien on France’s Atlantic coast admitted that he smoked some of the drug himself but said most of it was given to his 150 ducks for medicinal purposes.
“There’s no better worming substance for them, a specialist advised me to do it,” the farmer, Michel Rouyer, said, without being able to identify the specialist in question.
“This is for real, not one (duck) has worms and they’re all in excellent health,” said Rouyer’s lawyer, Jean Piot, in an effort to convince the court.
Police arrested Rouyer after discovering 12 cannabis plants and around five kilos (11 pounds) of the drug in a bag during a visit to his home following a theft.
“It’s the first time we’ve heard something like this,” police said.
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