In the kennels of the 'barking dogs', the punishment is electric.

After a report from one of our whistleblowers, One Voice has carried out a new investigation in hunting circles, this time in Hérault.

In the kennels of the 'barking dogs', silence is the order of the day. The enclosures are neat and tidy, the animals almost timid. Our investigators have brought back numerous images, which have enabled us to understand why.

There are thirteen dogs, including pregnant bitches and a mother with her litter of pups. However it is not called a breeding establishment despite the regulations that, once again, do not apply when the dogs they are supposed to protect are bred for hunting. A scandal that must cease!

Cleanliness is not enough.

The ground is fairly clean but unsuitable. The concrete paving slabs are rough and do not allow urine and other effluent to run off. Yet the dogs have to sleep on the ground. All the individual kennels are different. Some do not comply with the regulations, not even being waterproof! Plastic barrels, sheets of metal – that's all most of the dogs have for shelter, and in some enclosures there aren't even enough for the number of dogs.

Summer and winter alike, nothing for protection

There is no bedding in the kennels either, not even in winter, and they do not face south. However it snows in this region! Heat in summer, cold and damp in winter, and enclosures that are too small. That is what these dogs suffer, unprotected from the elements. In addition, one of them has serious skin problems on its paws, which seem not to have been treated.

Silence

But the main impression from looking at the photos taken by our investigators is the near-silence that prevails here. A stranger entering kennels should give rise to a cacophony of barking. Here, on the other hand, the dogs watch, fearful, without a sound. Here, barking means suffering. Eleven dogs wear a veritable instrument of torture around their necks: a box fitted with two electrodes, which gives them an electric shock if they vocalize! Even worse, they have been tampered with by Mr J. A metal thread has been added to make the pain even worse. So they keep quiet.

The use of electric collars is dangerous.

Electric collars are already prohibited in many countries: Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Wales, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Slovenia, Scotland and England. One Voice is fighting for these cruel and dangerous devices to be banned in France since they may cause:

• contraction of the muscles;
• burns;
• contraction of the respiratory muscles, which may lead to death by asphyxiation;
• ventricular fibrillation.

For the dogs in these kennels, any vocalization is permanently suppressed. That means that they cannot not even communicate normally among themselves. Being a hunting dog is definitely not a good life. This is a long way from the image of dogs frolicking in the forest that some hunters would have us believe! One Voice has made a complaint and applied for them to be seized and safely rehoused as soon as possible. This lack of protection for dogs exploited for hunting must stop. They are no different from those we keep as pets and should benefit from the same protection.

Translated from the French by Patricia Fairey