Defending wolves at administrative tribunals continues for One Voice!

Edit from 15 December 2022:

The ruling from the Toulon Administrative Tribunal has been returned. No answer has been given to us by the urgent applications judge regarding the legality of the decree, while we feel that the Prefecture did not respond to our objections; and they rejected our request regarding the urgency. We will continue again and again in future to try to convince judges that an ‘environmentalist’ perspective on wolves centred around the species is not the correct focus and that, in this case, there certainly is an urgency for every wolf that loses its life to these shots.

A demonised perspective on wolves and dogmatic decisions

Whether it be in Nîmes or Montpellier, where the previous hearings took place, urgent applications judges have not been kind to wolves. One, after having rolled their eyes when our lawyer spoke, ultimately
did not give a reason for his decision to dismiss. As for the other, while there was no report or document from administration, they stated during the hearing that they had no reason to doubt the prefecture’s word. What use is an administrative tribunal in this case if not to settle debates without dogmatism or ideology?

We hope this time that our arguments will be, if not listened to, at least heard, or even considered! Who knows, the judges may finally allow themselves to be convinced…? In fact, to allow wolves to be the target of shooting and as it concerns a species protected on a European level and also under French law, a certain amount of factors must be met.

Prefectures do not even bother to properly justify their decisions

The Var decree of 7 November that we are contesting allows reinforced defence shots on wolves at the Verjon Common Agricultural Operating Group, shots that are an exception to this protection. Yet the Prefecture’s justification is very vague and stereotypical (on protection measures, attacks, execution of simple shots). We are not particularly certain that simple defence shots have really been carried out before going straight to this new, increased stage… Likewise, there is still a grey area on the protection of animals bred by this agricultural group.

In the same way, we attacked the decree from the Alpes-Maritimes Prefect on 2 November authorising reinforced shots on wolves. Prefectural motivations featuring here are just as imprecise.

We therefore have a serious doubt on the legality of the decrees, and the deaths of the wolves concerned is an irreversible and vital urgency for them and for the conservation of their species, which is still very weak. Two key elements to win an emergency interim suspension.

Worthless protection

In France, authorities prefer wolves to be dead. This is why they are not really as protected as they were when they were not in national territory and they species was ‘extinct’ here… In fact, it was not even necessary to take the slightest protection measures, since they were not present! It is a fool’s game that we are playing with the Ministry of the Ecological Transition and the Prefect coordinating the Wolf Plan.

We know that the hunting lobby and farmers are pushing our leaders to declassify wolves to make individuals who are already vulnerable from this species huntable once again. This lobby spends its time demonising and ‘crying wolf’ even when animals from other species are involved. A scandal that moves no one other than us, animal defenders. It would be unacceptable for us to get to this point. Wolves have an essential role in ecosystems and the right to live in peace by and for themselves.

The State authorised 174 wolves to be killed officially each year and each year this number is reviewed as increasing. It was 118 in 2021… Without counting those who will be irreversibly poached. We will never stop fighting for them.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice