The Bargy ibex killed in 2019: the legal system rules in One Voice’s favour at the appeal

It was a positive sign that we received this February for the ibex on the Bargy mountain range (almost four years later)! In recent years in Haute-Savoie, prefectural decrees authorising slaughtering have not stopped coming. Nothing seems to stop the authorities: neither the inefficiency of these shots, nor the fact that these animals are protected by the Bern Convention...

A victory in retrospect that validates our stance and is encouraging for the future

In 2019, the Prefect authorised the capture and ‘euthanasia’ of 50 ibex that tested positive for brucellosis and ordered the indiscriminate slaughter of 20 others, leading to pressure from farmers worried about the supposed risk of contamination of their cows.

Of course, we flew to the aid of these agile animals. After a misunderstanding about our interest to act at the Grenoble Administrative Tribunal which led to our cancellation request for the prefectural decree being rejected without a decision on its merits, the Lyon Administrative Court of Appeals this time proved us right. It thus not only requested the cancellation of the 2019 decree that we were fighting against, but also stated that any slaughter of ibex without prior screening would not be “the most satisfactory solution to reach the objectives that we are pursuing in order to preserve this protected species”.

Decrees to come: vigilance remains prudent

We are celebrating this decision which shows the way towards a more fair treatment of wild animals. So that ibex stop being victims of massacres, we will continue to rally as we have done since 2013.

In May 2022, we succeeded, alongside our partners, specifically in suspending a decree planning to put 170 individuals to death. And this autumn, we stood up against the slaughter of about sixty animals, starting the day after the publication of the decree. Confronted with this attempt to force it through, we were not able to file an emergency interim suspension proceeding in time (the tribunals were closed over the weekend and the decree was published at the end of the day on Friday). The Prefecture, on its side, hastened to repeal its decree before the urgent hearing. The annulment request is ongoing and we are waiting for a date for the hearing.

Together, we will persist in fighting against decrees that attack the Bargy ibex in the hope that justice will return more and more rulings in their favour. And if possible, before the animals in question are killed...

Translated from the French by Joely Justice