Demonstration on April, 26th against the expansion of the primatology station in Rousset (France)

Demonstration on April, 26th against the expansion of the primatology station in Rousset (France)

Demonstration on April, 26th against the expansion of the primatology station in Rousset (France)
17.04.2025
Rousset, Bouches-Du-Rhône
Demonstration on April, 26th against the expansion of the primatology station in Rousset (France)
Animal testing

On the occasion of the World Day for Laboratory Animals, One Voice and the CVPA-Collectif Vauclusien de Protection Animale are organising a joint demonstration on Saturday April, 26th 2025 from 1.45pm in front of the Rousset town hall (France) to oppose the project to expand the CNRS primatology station and increase the number of primates destined for laboratories.

At a time when research across many fields is moving beyond animal experimentation and alternative methods are proving increasingly, the CNRS is investing heavily in extending its primatology station at Rousset, 16 km from Aix-en-Provence.

The aim? To transform the station into a national primatology centre, tripling its capacity. The site would be expanded from 600 to 1,740 primates (baboons, macaques, squirrel monkeys and marmosets) destined for use in French laboratories. 

A public tender for the expansion work has already been issued.

This project, costing over €30 million and funded by taxpayers, goes against the European Directive 2010/63/EU, which promotes ‘the total replacement of procedures applied to live animals for scientific or educational purposes, as soon as scientifically possible’.

Let’s recall that three quarters of French citizens are opposed to animal experimentation, 81% are opposed to experiments on primates and 80% support the closure of primate breeding facilities in France.

Does it still make sense to launch such a breeding project in 2025 knowing that its construction will not be completed before 2030 and that it will then take a further 4 to 5 years to ‘produce’ enough primates for a demand that will likely have shifted by then?

We strongly doubt it. This is why One Voice and the Collectif Vauclusien de Protection Animale, supported by more than fifty national and international organisations (associations, collectives, foundations, parties, etc.), will gather on  April,26th from 1.45pm to voice two demands:

  • an ethical, scientific and economic assessment of the relevance of the extension project by an independent committee,
  • the reallocation of public funds towards innovative animal-free research methods.

To find out more, click here:

Awareness and public information articles:
The petition :
Advocacy action: 
What the press is saying:
  • Article on the extension of the Rousset primatology station (2024)
Specialist reports and websites:
About the CNRS in Bouches-du-Rhône :

“Goose neck” game: it’s time for Arfeuilles to give up cruelty

“Goose neck” game: it’s time for Arfeuilles to give up cruelty

“Goose neck” game: it’s time for Arfeuilles to give up cruelty
16.04.2025
Allier
“Goose neck” game: it’s time for Arfeuilles to give up cruelty
Exploitation for shows

Already denounced by One Voice in 2023, the village of Arfeuilles, in the Allier region, continues to include the goose neck game in its summer festivities. In the name of the geese sacrificed and the children exposed to this barbarity, we call on the municipality to turn away from these sinister beheadings, following the example of the choices made in Saint-Bonnet-Près-Riom and most recently by the mayor of Lesmont.

A tradition that needs to evolve…

This is far from the first time that the goose neck game organized in Arfeuilles has scandalized citizens and animal defenders. Already in 2014, a petition describing the practice as “a disgrace” to the village had garnered over 42,000 signatures.

Affected by the health crisis, the event did not take place from 2020 to 2022. There was hope: three years is enough time to reflect, to ask oneself whether beheading geese, perched on a galloping horse, is really the best way to cheer up a village. The events committee could have taken advantage of this opportunity to innovate and reinvent its famous patron saint’s festival… but it preferred not to change a thing. Worse still, the protests clearly taught them nothing. When it comes to animal welfare and public opinion, they simply don’t think.

…to protect animals and children 

In 2023, we denounced the revival of this bloody piñata, attended by children. Barely taller than the fences on which the adults were leaning, how did they feel at the sight of these dead geese hanging by their legs, their throats violently slit? What message are they getting, except that animals deserve no respect, and that the worst mutilations are something to be applauded?

This nonsense has to stop. Once again this year, a whistle-blower has warned us that the goose-neck game will be held in Arfeuilles on August 15, under the guise of “equestrian shows”. We expect the municipality to finally put an end to this tradition, which it would benefit from replacing with a non-violent activity, as Saint-Bonnet-près-Riom and Lesmont have done.

For the geese, rabbits, chickens and ducks targeted every year, sign our petition to demand a nationwide ban on this practice.

Illustration photo from our images at Saint-Bonnet-Près-Riom in 2023

New request by Animal Cross, AVES and One Voice against yet another blatantly anti-wolf ministerial decree

New request by Animal Cross, AVES and One Voice against yet another blatantly anti-wolf ministerial decree

New request by Animal Cross, AVES and One Voice against yet another blatantly anti-wolf ministerial decree
15.04.2025
New request by Animal Cross, AVES and One Voice against yet another blatantly anti-wolf ministerial decree
Wildlife

The Ministry of Ecology (yes, the Ministry of Ecology) and the Ministry of Agriculture have once again given in to the farming lobby, and in February signed a new decree making wolf shooting more (and more) flexible by introducing, in most cases, an exemption from protection for herds of cows and horses. The canids’ detractors are never satisfied. Together with Animal Cross and AVES, we have just made a request to the Council of State against this extremely permissive and vague text, calling for it to be annulled.

Hypocritical and, above all, false claims about cow herds being “unprotectable”

Quick to bow to the whims of lobbies, the French State is still claiming that certain herds are unprotectable, despite positive feedback from other countries. Thanks to the complicity of the authorities, breeders will be able to leave cows and horses to their own devices without the slightest protection, then come and ask for shooting authorizations if attacks occur.

The administration welcomes with open arms the shenanigans of the livestock industry, which wants nothing more than to have wolves disappeared. The aberrant distinction between cows and sheep, called for by the Savoie Mont-Blanc Interdepartmental Chamber of Agriculture, has been served up as a matter of course.

Prefects’ dishonesty prosecuted in administrative courts

This backward step in legislation, decried by the National Council for the Protection of Nature and denounced by 74% of French respondents to the public consultation, is intolerable. It is all the more worrying given the tendency of prefects to systematically admit that a herd of cows is unprotectable, without even verifying this in practice.

Against these lax and complacent authorities, we have made requests in four departments: Nièvre with AVES, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes and Isère. We are awaiting the hearing dates. It’s intolerable that the administration should persist in failing to protect flocks of any kind, and then go after the wolves!

The Besançon administrative court has already ruled in our favour twice: in June 2024, it annulled an order issued by the Doubs prefect in 2022, which had (wrongly) unilaterally declared that a herd of cows could not be protected, and then last January annulled six other orders issued in 2022 in the Jura region, for the same reason.

Let’s put an end to the hypocrisy of the State and its prefects, who want to wipe out all wolves without exception, including this exceptional pair on the Millevaches plateau.

For these majestic animals, which 8 out of 10 French people consider indispensable to our ecosystems, sign our petition.

In Anost, stop to the massacre of captive wild boars: let’s offer them refuge

In Anost, stop to the massacre of captive wild boars: let’s offer them refuge

In Anost, stop to the massacre of captive wild boars: let’s offer them refuge
14.04.2025
In Anost, stop to the massacre of captive wild boars: let’s offer them refuge
Wildlife

In Anost, in the Morvan regional park, wild boars have been locked up for years in a tourist enclosure managed by the French National Forest Office (ONF), often starving. Several times a year, hunters are given carte blanche to slaughter the animals with bow and dagger. On March 2, nine of the eighteen wild boars were killed in cold blood. We support the project of two wild boar specialists to transform this park into a sanctuary and put an end to the massacres. 

A peaceful setting that conceals cruelty

Created in 1970 to entertain tourists and local families, this 20-hectare park quickly turned into a place of suffering for wild boars. ONF agents only come to feed them once a week… or every fortnight! It’s the visitors themselves who bring them a little comfort by attending to their vital needs.

An unbearable situation for these animals, who need several meals a day, made up of fruits, seeds or roots. The consequences of this undernourishment are numerous: weight loss, development of diseases and difficulties for future mothers to carry their gestation to term… 

No to carnage, yes to a sanctuary!

As if that weren’t enough, the ONF regularly calls on the local hunting society to come and kill them with bow and dagger, before the astonished eyes of visitors and their children. A variant of farm or spear hunting, the barbarity of which we had denounced in our undercover investigations

Thirty animals used to enjoy the site, but only nine remain today. But that’s never enough: a few weeks ago, a wild sow was poached in the middle of the night, the umpteenth proof of these men’s total disrespect for animal life. 

The managers’ stated intention is clear: get rid of the remaining animals so as not to have to take care of them… and close this semi-liberty area. To protect them, we support the project put forward by two wild boar lovers to transform the park into a sanctuary. Sign and share our petitions for a radical hunting reform and a ban on penned, farm and spear hunting!

Spanish refusal to transfer orcas from Marineland, a strong signal to end captivity

Spanish refusal to transfer orcas from Marineland, a strong signal to end captivity

Spanish refusal to transfer orcas from Marineland, a strong signal to end captivity
11.04.2025
Spanish refusal to transfer orcas from Marineland, a strong signal to end captivity
Exploitation for shows

On Thursday April 10, 2025, the Spanish authorities definitively refused to transfer the orcas from Antibes Marineland to Loro Parque. A salutary decision, the fruit of a long campaign.

Marineland was planning to move Wikie, Keijo and several other animals to dolphinariums with dubious reputations, without openly communicating the date of the transfer. Thanks to a field survey and diplomatic pressure, One Voice helped to prevent the transfer from taking place. This setback should mark a turning point. Marineland’s cetaceans must never again experience the hell of the tanks.

One Voice is calling for them to be placed in sanctuaries.

A categorical refusal that brings about major change

Since the passing of the 2021 law banning cetacean shows from the end of 2026 – and even though this law provides the captivity industry with numerous loopholes to evade it – Marineland, now closed to the public, has been desperate to part with the animals and its most profitable loss leaders: orcas. The solutions proposed, notably their transfer to dolphinariums with dubious reputations, only lengthens their captivity in increasingly cramped tanks. The Spanish refusal marks a decisive turning point.

For years – and increasingly so in recent months – Marineland had been pressuring the government with sickening job blackmail, shamelessly lying to its staff, the authorities and the public alike. Nothing in the law prevented Marineland from keeping orcas and keepers on site, apart from a lack of profitability that was becoming increasingly apparent in the Antibes stands. This awareness has been accelerated by the continuous work of animal rights activists, who are raising awareness of the suffering of captive and trained cetaceans.

Secret preparations, imminent departure

Since the beginning of the month – and even more so since the end of the judicial expert assessment obtained by One Voice, which prevented the departure of Wikie and Keijo – we have been closely following the intensive preparations put in place by the Côte d’Azur dolphinarium, determined to get rid of Marineland’s orcas, dolphins, sea lions, flamingos, sharks and turtles as quickly as possible.

Over a period of ten days, training, moving, opening passages and pruning trees were observed.

The dismantling of the Lagoon arch was completed in one morning. The orcas’ medical tank was largely emptied while they were inside, then refilled in preparation for their transfer. Similarly, the keepers rubbed the fabric of the lifting stretcher on the orcas’ skin during their meals, to get them used to its contact.

On the evening of Wednesday April 9, after the departure of several sea lions and the opening of the access to the Lagon basin, where most of the dolphins are located, two heavy goods vehicles parked in the park. The following morning, at around 8am, a truck equipped with a telescopic arm docked on the ground near the orca basin and removed from the trucks the transport crates for Wikie and her son. By 11am, the operation was complete. Everything was in place for the imminent departure of the orcas, dolphins and Fox, the Steller sea lion.

generics.video.play

Transfer list revealed

Sharky (the darkest dolphin in the show tank) and Malou (the young mother), originally from the wild, were to remain in Europe. They were to be sent to Loro Parque (Spain), accompanied by the orcas Wikie and Keijo, and Fox, the large male Steller sea lion.

Tex, Anya, Joey, Neo and Kay, the dolphins from the Lagoon Basin – who had already been transferred from Spain (Madrid or Valencia) – were to make a stopover at Madrid Zoo, before heading for Hainan, China. Malou’s daughter, along with the other dolphins from the show tank, were to accompany them.

Spain says no to confinement

In a welcome turn of events, salvation came from an unexpected source: the Spanish health authorities. After we had alerted to the dangers that the arrival of two potentially sick French orcas – sharing the same water and forced interactions – would represent for Morgan’s baby, just born at Loro Parque, Spain vetoed the move. By 8pm on Thursday evening, the transfer of the orcas and dolphins was definitively blocked.

The French Minister for Ecological Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, has naturally asked Parques Reunidos, Marineland’s owner, to ensure continuity of care. This is excellent news, but far from sufficient. A concrete and humane plan, with funding and a strong political commitment, is essential.

We reiterate our proposal to bring competent staff to the basins to care for the two orcas. The judicial expert assessment we have obtained has demonstrated the absence of appropriate care, which must be remedied as a matter of urgency to prevent Wikie and Keijo from continuing to suffer with mortal risks.

generics.video.play

Sanctuaries, not tanks

Once again, One Voice calls on the French authorities to accept their responsibilities. Marineland’s orcas and dolphins must not be sent to other aquatic prisons. The Minister must not go back on her commitment not to accept the sending of Wikie and Keijo to Asia.

Any solution other than endless exploitation must now be considered.

They deserve to be transferred to suitable sanctuaries currently being created, whether in Nova Scotia or elsewhere. The Lipsi sanctuary in Greece – a long-standing One Voice partner for welcoming the Marineland dolphins – is a case in point.

These sanctuaries, although delimited by nets fixed to the seabed, offer direct contact with the sea, a natural environment, and the chance to learn to live without stress and deprivation. Semi-liberty, close to the open sea, without training, where veterinary care and food are provided by competent professionals.

We demand that France seize this opportunity to turn the page on an era when cetacean captivity was tolerated. It’s time to act so that Wikie, Keijo and the others have not suffered in vain. One Voice remains vigilant and will continue to fight for the well-being of Marineland’s cetaceans, calling for solutions that respect their dignity and freedom.

This Spanish refusal causes a breach in the closed system of captivity. It’s time for France to accept its responsibilities: no cetacean should be returned to a tank. One Voice is calling for them to be placed in suitable sanctuaries in Europe or Canada, where they can finally regain a semblance of freedom. We call on the public to sign our petition for Marineland’s orcas.

Forensic report on orcas: 84 pages of platitudes despite dysfunctions at Marineland

Forensic report on orcas: 84 pages of platitudes despite dysfunctions at Marineland

Forensic report on orcas: 84 pages of platitudes despite dysfunctions at Marineland
08.04.2025
Antibes
Forensic report on orcas: 84 pages of platitudes despite dysfunctions at Marineland
Exploitation for shows

Two meetings in fifteen months, six months’ delay by Marineland before sending the documents and dozens of emails exchanged between the parties, including endless reminders to the experts. In the midst of the proceedings, the park did not see fit to inform them of Inouk’s death so that they could take part in his autopsy. They heard it from the press. They have chosen to remain silent since June 2024, and have not even deigned to send a summary sheet so that the main points can be discussed before the final report is delivered, thus preventing any upstream fine-tuning as is customary. A lack of courage that is clearly a missed opportunity, and at the limits of the rules of the exercise.

The expert report ordered by the Grasse court at One Voice’s request was delivered on April 7, 2025. We confronted Marineland about the quality of the water and the state of the tanks, but above all about the health of Inouk and Moana, then Wikie and Keijo.

Today, we are releasing this report to the general public, along with our analysis of it.

While certain undeniable elements are highlighted (such as Moana’s illnesses, or Inouk’s dental problems), the reasons for the development of this condition are never questioned, even though this was precisely the role of this procedure.

The cetacean specialists One Voice asked to take part in the expert report, Dr. P. Gallego and Dr. D. Perpiñan, as well as our three lawyers, Mses C. Lanty, C. Robert and M. Voutsas, are today joining us in denouncing the catastrophic orca management practices at Antibes Marineland, revealing that our concerns were well-founded… if it were still necessary to demonstrate this, since our request for an expert report alerted to the health of Moana and Inouk, one of whom died two weeks and the other six months after the court’s decision to order it.

We therefore deplore the lack of hindsight and critical eye of the two experts appointed by the court with regard to the elements transmitted – with bad grace – by Marineland.

The fact that One Voice requested an expert report on Inouk and Moana, and that these two orcas died less than a year after the ruling, clearly demonstrates that One Voice’s fears were justified, and that Antibes Marineland’s management of the orcas is catastrophic. Dr Pierre Gallégo One Voice veterinary consultant, cetacean specialist According to the experts, the quality of the water and the facilities do not present any anomalies in terms of animal welfare. Why have the Minister and Marineland suddenly taken to claiming in chorus that it was urgent to transfer Wikie and Keijo because of the state of the tanks? In this report, as throughout the judicial expert assessment, the suffering of each of the four orcas has been clearly demonstrated. One Voice has fought this battle for eight years, and it’s not over. We will be following Wikie and Keijo, but we also want to ensure that the unspeakable suffering endured by Inouk and Moana can spare the other captive orcas from the same ordeal. Muriel Arnal President of One Voice

Here’s our analysis:

  • Obvious errors in medical records
    Admittedly, the word “orca” is a feminine noun in French, and Moana ends with the letter a, but we were entitled to expect better: the expert report reveals that, in Moana’s file, the court’s experts made a mistake in the sex of the orca – presented as female when he was a male – revealing their disturbing lack of knowledge of the file.
  • Prolonged and inadequate treatment
    Medical records show that Moana, who was monitored from January 5, 2023 until his death on October 18, 2023 (i.e. 292 days), was subjected to heavy and repeated treatment:

    • antibiotics for 107 days (37% of the period);
    • corticoids for 31 days (11%);
    • painkillers for 36 days (12%);
    • antifungals for 21 days (7%).

These treatments, combined with invasive and painful dental procedures, among other things, show that veterinary care is far from sufficient to prevent irreversible deterioration in the animal’s state of health.

Dr. Pierre Gallégo, One Voice’s veterinary consultant and a cetacean specialist, explains:

Some major dental procedures were carried out over extremely long periods. For example, the drilling of one of Moana’s teeth began before January 5, 2023, and was completed on January 31, 2023. This was followed by post-drilling care (curettage of the pus in the drilled canal), which lasted until the day before his death on October 18, 2023. He therefore suffered from severe dental infections over a long period of time (a minimum of 292 days), requiring heavy, repeated and prolonged treatment with antibiotics and painkillers, extensive and painful dental surgeries, with infected periodontal pockets requiring rinsing to remove the pus. It’s very clear that Moana suffered from severe dental pain for a very long time, right up to his death. Who can believe for a moment that the orca was well and that One Voice’s fears were unjustified? As for the management of orcas by Antibes Marineland, it is quite simply catastrophic.”

  • Critical diagnostic omissions
    The report also points out that pathologies such as pneumonia, ulcerative gastritis and the presence of foreign bodies in Moana’s and Inouk’s bodies – diagnosed a posteriori at autopsy – were never adequately treated by Marineland’s veterinarian, whose priority was repetitive dental operations. This lack of investigation contributed to leaving pain unrelieved and aggravating the orcas’ suffering, to the point of no return. Inouk suffered from osteomyelitis of the jaw, an inflammation and destruction of the bones caused by bacteria, mycobacteria or fungi. A serious, excruciating, chronic infection, not properly treated, which means that Inouk suffered for a very long time.

Suffering attributed to an unsuitable environment

  • Consequences of stereotypical behavior
    The analysis establishes that the dental wear responsible for severe lesions in Moana and Inouk is the result of stereotypical behavior induced by boredom and suffering in captivity. Lack of behavioral enrichment and too-small tanks would have led them to bite metal walls and structures, thus favoring the appearance of chronic and severe suffering.
  • Problems observed in several orcas
    The cases of Wikie and Keijo, although deemed “normal” on the basis of the documents provided by Marineland, contrast with the damning findings on Moana and Inouk. Numerous signs, such as widespread dental erosion, dorsal fin deformities (present in 100% of adult males in captivity) and abnormal social withdrawal behaviors, testify to latent malaise and inadequate care.

Blatant inconsistencies concerning the park’s infrastructure

  • Contradiction between official declarations and reality
    All these years, in response to our warnings, the park and the Ministry said that all was well in the best of worlds…
    While the experts’ report states that the infrastructures (tanks and water circulation system) comply with minimum sanitary standards, the fact that Antibes Marineland and the French Minister for Ecology, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, are demanding, now that the park is closed, that the orcas be urgently transported – on the pretext of an advanced state of deterioration – raises questions. The absence of any explanation for this urgency, despite reports of “recurrent repair work”, suggests that the reality in the field is far more worrying than the experts suggest. Where is the reality? We’ll probably never know, given the experts’ unwillingness to take a stand and really objectify the situation.
  • Lack of transparency in the documentation
    The court’s ruling (Aix Court of Appeal, September 2023) provided for the submission of a summary document. However, this document was not produced, and the late or erratic transmission of Marineland’s documents bears witness to a lack of procedural rigor. This dysfunction contributes to the impression of an “expert report” which was mistaken for a simple report, without any critical investigation of the facts.

In conclusion:

An urgent call for the overhaul of management and practices

All the elements contained in the expert documents demonstrate that the management of orcas at Antibes Marineland is marked by an accumulation of diagnostic errors, inadequate medical follow-ups and infrastructure management out of step with the animals’ real needs. The report concludes that these dysfunctions – responsible for considerable suffering and even early deaths – illustrate a serious attack on animal welfare.

In light of these findings, One Voice is calling for an urgent overhaul of the orcas’ day-to-day management, including:

  • A complete review of medical follow-up protocols and veterinary practices;
  • Questioning captivity conditions and appropriate behavioral enrichment;
  • Total transparency in the communication of files and interventions carried out;
  • The association reiterates its proposal made to the Ministry and Marineland the day after Moana’s death in October 2023, and repeated on the day of Inouk’s death a few months later, to fully fund the mission of veterinarians and scientists specializing in orcas to come and take care of them and give Wikie and Keijo a chance of not suffering the same tragic fate as the other members of their family.

Loro Parque: would Morgan’s baby survive the arrival of the French orcas?

Loro Parque: would Morgan’s baby survive the arrival of the French orcas?

Loro Parque: would Morgan’s baby survive the arrival of the French orcas?
09.04.2025
Tenerife
Loro Parque: would Morgan’s baby survive the arrival of the French orcas?
Exploitation for shows

In early March 2025, Morgan gave birth again in the tanks of Loro Parque. Since then, she has been in isolation with her calf. We are publishing previously unseen images of the two orcas and warning of the danger posed to them by the imminent arrival of Wikie and Keijo in Tenerife. Only a few days old, the young orca may not survive this upheaval.

Here’s an exclusive video of Morgan and her calf, less than a week after his birth at Loro Parque in Tenerife, watched by male orcas Adán and Tekoa.

According to Dr. Gallego, a cetacean veterinarian and consultant to One Voice, there are two major risks to this seemingly puny newborn baby from the imminent arrival of Wikie and Keijo:

Firstly, the stress induced by the cranes, the waves this arrival will create, and the tensions between individuals in these tanks, which are so much smaller than those at Marineland. In which tank will Morgan and his son be in peace? Ideally, a minimum of one month is required before any upheaval takes place. 

And above all: what kind of water filtering system is planned? Morgan transmits her antibodies to the baby via her milk, but we don’t want the bacteria from the French orcas to expose him to diseases… 

Let’s not forget that Morgan’s daughter Ula died at less than three years of age… She was born with a malformation. To this day, we don’t know the real state of health of this little male orca, who doesn’t yet have a first name.

For Milo and Mina, the wolves of the Millevaches plateau, the mobilization continues!

For Milo and Mina, the wolves of the Millevaches plateau, the mobilization continues!

For Milo and Mina, the wolves of the Millevaches plateau, the mobilization continues!
03.04.2025
Corrèze
For Milo and Mina, the wolves of the Millevaches plateau, the mobilization continues!
Wildlife

Under pressure from farming unions blinded by hatred, the Corrèze prefecture refuses to protect the pair of wolves on the Millevaches plateau. They are unique in France due to their genetics, and want nothing more than to live. With our partner, we are redoubling our efforts to defend them!

A family like no other…

We’ve given them a name: Milo and Mina. In May 2023, a wolf had already been killed in Tarnac, but today they are the last representatives of their species in the Limousin. Together, they form a unique couple. Milo, a German-Polish male, crossed a large part of Europe to arrive on the Millevaches plateau. It was here that his path crossed that of Mina, a young female wolf barely two years old whose Italian-Alpine origins have just been confirmed. Fearful and inexperienced, she often travels with her companion. She is doing well and could soon give birth to cubs from an exceptional genetic cross… if only breeders would stop calling for her death.

… which the authorities want to slaughter

Since their discovery in the summer of 2024, the two wolves have been hunted relentlessly, to the point where Milo has been seriously injured. This relentless pursuit must stop! On Wednesday March 19, hand in hand with naturalists from the Carduelis association, we were in Tulle to make their voice heard by the prefect. True to form, the State turned a deaf ear to the arguments of scientists and animal protectors, preferring to side with those who want to see nothing in nature but animals soon to be sent to the slaughterhouse. Profit, a short-term vision, and nothing for biodiversity. Shooting permits remain in place, and the farming lobby is rubbing its hands. For them, it doesn’t matter that Milo and Mina are the only wolves in the whole of the Corrèze, Creuse and Haute-Vienne regions combined. It also doesn’t matter that they haven’t caused any “damage” to flocks since November 2024. The unions want only one thing: to exterminate them, whatever the cost.

Cohabitation, the only solution 

Yet there is another way, the only one that really works. In Italy, wolves, which are much more numerous than in France, are real mascots. In Abruzzo, farmers have adapted to their presence, and the wild animals now attract tourists and nature lovers alike, boosting the region’s economy. So why do we only think of slaughtering them on our side of the Alps?

For Milo and Mina, we are preparing new actions. Please join us and sign the petition that we are carrying in partnership with Carduelis!

Under pressure from frightened cheesemakers, yet more ibexes are slaughtered!

Under pressure from frightened cheesemakers, yet more ibexes are slaughtered!

Under pressure from frightened cheesemakers, yet more ibexes are slaughtered!
27.03.2025
Haute-Savoie
Under pressure from frightened cheesemakers, yet more ibexes are slaughtered!
Wildlife

In 2025, without a general mobilization, 20 potentially healthy Bargy ibexes will once again be slaughtered to appease the cheese lobby. This persecution must stop. Join us in opposing this new decree issued by the Haute-Savoie prefecture, which is open to consultation until April 4.

The ibexes of the Bargy massif continue to be shot on sight, whether healthy or not, even though their numbers are already very low. All this, to buy the peace of breeders who fear the transmission of brucellosis to the animals they exploit. After the inter-associative fight waged on behalf of these peerless climbers, the Haute-Savoie prefecture

has learned its lesson and no longer plans to slaughter them en masse. It’s about time! Having said that, it’s all very well to (finally!) play “top of the class”, but it’s clear that we shouldn’t be asking any more of the state services, who are nevertheless planning to kill twenty of them…

Another indiscriminate massacre…

The prefecture is submitting for public consultation a draft new decree authorizing the slaughter of 20 ‘unmarked’ ibexes, i.e. never tested and declared “healthy”.

Only sick animals are euthanized after capture. The others are released after testing and marking. But for those unfortunate enough to cross the steepest areas inaccessible to humans (so much the better for their peace and quiet!), shooting is once again planned. Unacceptable.

… orchestrated earlier and earlier in the name of economic interests

When will this relentlessness cease? They are already being poached by hunters and their species is, let’s not forget, protected. Why not let them live in peace? It’s all to protect the economic interests of the cheese industry!

Make farmers responsible, when this disease comes from the animals they exploit? Out of the question. As always, it’s easy to blame nature in general and wildlife in particular, rather than reconsidering one’s practices!

The icing on the cake is that these indiscriminate culls will take place between April 15 and June 15, right during the nesting season of bearded vultures, which are majestic birds of the mountains, who are struggling to survive… Not content with going after the ibexes, the government services will be greatly harming their peace and quiet at a crucial time: their reproduction.

To reject this decree, write to ddt-consultations-publiques@haute-savoie.gouv.fr before April 4, listing your arguments in your reply.

For animals unjustly classified as ESOD, the decisive hour at the Council of State approaches!

For animals unjustly classified as ESOD, the decisive hour at the Council of State approaches!

For animals unjustly classified as ESOD, the decisive hour at the Council of State approaches!
27.03.2025
France
For animals unjustly classified as ESOD, the decisive hour at the Council of State approaches!
Wildlife

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!