Does the law finally decide to defend wolves?
One Voice leads a nonviolent fight to defend animal rights and respect all life forms. The organization operates independently and is thus free to speak and act freely.
We have been fighting to stop the hunting of wolves in France for years. We have had demonstrations towards raising the awareness about the identity of wolves and meetings with government departments regarding legal actions. In 2018, we took steps at the State Council against the inter-ministerial orders and the presidential decree allowing the killing of wolves despite this species being protected. We also filed an appeal against the Prefect, the coordinator of the «wolf plan». So far, we have partially won, proof that the cause of wolves is advancing both within the population and within the justice system. But we’re not going to let our guard down…
Last August, a masked anti-wolf militia with handguns in the Hautes-Alpes declared they were ready to fight. Its members affirm that they will eradicate the wolves in the vicinity if the state does not bow under their threats. The facts themselves are shocking and call for an unequivocal response: We filed a complaint concerning a conspiracy to destroy a protected species.
The State is complicit in trying to wipe animals out of our country
However, whatever these poachers say, the state protects the breeders and hunters, and supports their demands! They think they’re above the law? Why should they worry when their President of the Republic had claimed since last February that: «Wolves, will be regulated! [… ] How do you exactly explain the numbers to be regulated?”, when his Minister of the Interior, on November 21st, unequivocally translated this as “killing the wolf”— Despite all their efforts to hide the fact that the biodiversity is the least of their worries, the government assumes that it’s only looking after one thing: to eradicate wolves little by little. In the beginning the «wolf plan» allowed the killing of up to 40 wolves a year. It then went up to 43, 50 and then to 100! One Voice has always signed up against any quota whatsoever. Wolves must be protected, not targeted! They are highly intelligent and sociable beings and have a role to play in the ecosystem.
“Buter du loup”…
Oui, en France, le massacre des loups se pratique avec l’assentiment des représentants du @gouvernementFR censés prendre leur défense! Si vous en doutiez voici les propos de @CCastaner sur les loups ce mardi. #FauneSauvage
Merci à @STouvert – Vidéo @dicitv pic.twitter.com/35GBECbsFY— One Voice (@onevoiceanimal) November 21, 2019
Inter-ministerial decree and presidential decree soon to be called into question following our appeals!
At the State Council in December 2nd, we requested the cancellation of the inter-ministerial decrees and the presidential decree, designating the Prefect the coordinator of the wolf plan and its exact powers. This included the number of wolves hunted and that the Prefects may deviate from the law regarding the protection of wolves. These quotas and derogations serve only one purpose: agricultural and hunting lobbies, to the detriment of the biodiversity. The public, mostly opposed to these orders, was not fooled. But the ministry of ecology in charge the protection of nature regulates the way in which it must be destroyed, and worse, asks the State Council to reject our requests.
The public speaker – whose opinion is mostly followed by the State Council in its decision-making – rejected most of our requests. Quotas will remain in place. On the other hand, if the State Council follows the public speaker’s opinion well, the coordinating Prefect will no longer be able to authorize the shooting of wolves if the threshold is reached, even with the excuse that this would endanger the herds. If the cancellation is pronounced by the State Council, One Voice, the only body facing the authorities of the State, will have them bow down and will diminish the powers of the Prefect.
The Prefectural order cancelled: the wolves were killed illegally.
Moreover, it was precisely at this point that we attacked the Prefect of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Rhône. This Prefect coordinated the wolf plan at the Grenoble administrative court, because he had assumed the right to have three additional wolves killed on top of the already huge number set by the Ministry of Ecological and Inclusive Transition. Unfortunately, we were dismissed from this emergency, and the wolves were slaughtered. But after the hearing of last November 14th, at the time of the judgment the verdict was decided: we had obtained the annulment of the Prefectural decree: but, the wolves were thus unlawfully killed.
And should we be satisfied with this post-mortem victory? No! Our mission is to save lives! Once again, we see that wolves have not finished being sacrificed on the altar of ancestral fears and the interests of the hunting and breeding lobbies. We will never abandon them, and will continue to attack any Prefectural or ministerial decree organizing their deaths.