For animals unjustly classified as ESOD, the decisive hour at the Council of State approaches!
In 2023, the French Ministry of Ecological Transition published a decree designating one of the lists of “species likely to cause damage” (ESOD). Valid for three years, this text condemns to death millions of animals unjustly considered undesirable by the State. To ensure that the voices of these victims of constant harassment are heard, One Voice has called for the decree to be annulled. Hearing on March 31 at 2:00 pm at the Council of State.
“ESOD”: for the State, kill them at all costs
Foxes, martens, weasels, stone martens, carrion crows, rooks, common magpies, starlings and Eurasian jays… Considered group 2 “ESOD”, these animals are the victims of constant harassment. And this despite the fact that they are already the target of often illegal administrative drives and hunting, including underground hunting for foxes and their young.
By classifying these species for three years, the ministerial decree of August 4, 2023 organizes their massacre. Traps are in overdrive -killing and maiming even domestic animals– and bullets are raining down, even outside the hunting season. Rather than learning to live with these sensitive, intelligent creatures, the State is once again adopting the logic of the hunters by choosing violence.
Before the highest administrative court: obtain as many declassifications as possible
Because this arbitrary classification will lead to millions of deaths and is not based on any scientific logic, we took to court as soon as the decree was published, without obtaining its suspension. The judges considered that, these animals being classified as ESOD, an emergency intervention was not justified…
After months of proceedings and national mobilization, we will be present at the Council of State for the hearing on the merits on March 31 at 2:00 pm to defend these species, department by department. This is an essential step if we are to save lives and avoid their classification in the next triennial decree.
In the meantime, sign our petitions for the removal of foxes from the ESOD list and for a radical reform of hunting!