News Archive - One voice

Wolves in utmost danger: a draft decree reducing their protection unveiled

Wolves in utmost danger: a draft decree reducing their protection unveiled
27.11.2025
Wolves in utmost danger: a draft decree reducing their protection unveiled
Wildlife

The draft ministerial decree on wolves marks a dramatic turning point for these animals: shooting them will become easier than ever –in many cases, a simple declaration will suffice– while measures to protect livestock will no longer even be mandatory. A massacre is on the cards to satisfy the demands of agricultural lobbies and hunters who have only one thing on their minds: the outright eradication of every wolf in France. Faced with this unprecedented assault, it is time for a widespread and massive mobilisation: until 19 December, take part in the public consultation to say no to this historic setback!

Wolves removed from the list of protected species: the great regression continues

The draft decree begins with a shocking announcement: wolves are purely and simply removed from the list of protected mammals in France. Instead, the government is trying to build a scheme out of thin air which pursues the clear objective of making culling ever easier and contains worrying legal uncertainty about the penalties incurred for poaching.

The text does formally maintain a general ban on killing, capturing or disturbing wolves, but the exemptions are so broad and so easy to obtain that they will become the norm. This draft is only one step, and we know where it will lead: to wolves becoming huntable. The government is not saying so, but the administrative machinery is in motion, and the agricultural and hunting lobbies are throwing their weight behind it. Only a massive mobilisation will defeat their nightmarish project.

Lethal shooting without herd protection: an intolerable shift

For most herds, the text now authorises lethal shooting in the absence of any protective measures. No more need for guard dogs. No more need for fences. No more need for guards. Nothing. In other words, farmers will be able to kill wolves in the name of defending a herd… that they have not even made the effort to protect.

The state is compensating for the lack of protection by offering the rifle as the default solution. This is a historic break with the principle of protecting endangered species… but one that nevertheless led to the killing of nearly 200 individuals each year. From now on, the first step is to shoot, and then perhaps protect, or perhaps not. This is a total reversal and an unprecedented act of violence against the wildlife of our country.

This draft decree paves the way for the mass slaughter of wolves and constitutes a serious break with any ethic of coexistence. We cannot allow such a setback for wild animals to happen. The heritage of future generations is at stake. Until 19 December, take part in the consultation to oppose the massacre of wolves, and sign our petition. If the decree is published as it stands, we will take legal action against it.

Stop the persecution of wolves! Stop the persecution of wolves! Stop the persecution of wolves! Stop the persecution of wolves! Stop the persecution of wolves! Stop the persecution of wolves! Stop the persecution of wolves! Stop the persecution of wolves! Stop the persecution of wolves! Stop the persecution of wolves!

Save the horseshoe crabs, victims of the biomedical industry’s blood factories

Save the horseshoe crabs, victims of the biomedical industry’s blood factories
27.11.2025
Europe
Save the horseshoe crabs, victims of the biomedical industry’s blood factories
Expérimentation animale

Despite more effective alternatives having existed for decades, pyrogenic testing* is still widely practised on animals. Although the European Union finally banned it on rabbits in 2024, horseshoe crabs are still subjected to it. Having existed for millions of years, they are now classified as endangered. More than 550,000 of them are captured each year for their blood, and of those around 150,000 do not survive. One Voice is joining forces with the ECEAE coalition to call for an immediate ban on these cruel tests and the systematic use of existing alternative methods.

Horseshoe crabs are not actually crustaceans. They belong to the same family as spiders and scorpions and live on the coasts of America and Asia. Protected from wild predators by a large carapace, they have ten eyes and five pairs of legs and have existed for around 450 million years! It is not however for their importance in the evolution of life, their exceptional morphological conservation or their ecological role but for certain properties of their blue blood that they are coveted by the biomedical industry, and for their flesh by the fishing industry. The four existing species are unfortunately classified as endangered.

Horseshoe crabs, survivors of five mass extinctions but threatened by the biomedical industry

Their blood is used in the vaccine and medical device business for pyrogenic testing to check the safety of products. Horseshoe crab blood coagulates on contact with certain bacteria. The LAL (Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate) test is based on this phenomenon.

Captured in the wild, horseshoe crabs are then kept out of the water in collection chambers where laboratories insert a needle into their hearts without anaesthesia and remove 30% of their blood. Horseshoe crabs have a nervous system, which makes them reactive to the stress of capture and blood collection. Released with a third less blood, between 10% and 30% of them die.

This exploitation is not only extremely cruel, but it also gradually weakens the global population of these creatures, even going so far as to decimate 90% of one species of horseshoe crab known as the three-spined horseshoe crab, in Asia.

Heterogeneous regulations around the world, which govern but do not protect

In the United States, biomedical companies must obtain an operating licence, comply with capture seasons and accurately report the number of animals collected. Blood is collected from live horseshoe crabs who must be released after collection in order to reduce mortality, even though a significant proportion of them do not survive.

In Asia, these living creatures are subject to varying restrictions depending on the country: protected areas, bans on capture during breeding season, or limitations on export.

In Europe, where horseshoe crabs do not live naturally, regulations mainly concern the importation of animals or animal products.

And yet a synthetic alternative has existed for decades

The European Union has been encouraging and, since 2020, authorising the use of a synthetic substitute, recombinant factor C (rFC) which has been available since 2003. This product replaces the molecules sought in horseshoe crab blood, it is already used in many applications, and it is much more effective.

The European Pharmacopoeia is the regulation that requires the pyrogenicity of medicines, vaccines and medical devices to be checked. Despite the existence of methods that do not use animals —and which produce superior results— the LAL test using horseshoe crabs is still mentioned in this regulation and is therefore widely used.

Let’s take action to end the suffering of 550,000 horseshoe crabs every year

One Voice is part of the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments (ECEAE) which is committed to ending animal experimentation.

The coalition, represented by Doctors Against Animal Experiments, will meet with the European Commission on 12 December to demand that it withdraw its authorisation for tests using horseshoe crab blood and instead promote the use of its more effective synthetic substitute.

Help us put an end to this lucrative and cruel business by signing the petition to give more weight to our request before 30 November!

generics.video.play

*Pyrogenic tests are used to check whether a substance or medical product causes a reaction in the recipient in the form of fever. Historically, these tests were carried out by injecting the product into rabbits, then observing their temperature rise before killing them. Other methods use the blood of other animals, including horseshoe crabs.

Hunts at the authorities’ initiative conducted in secret: a worrying trend

Hunts at the authorities’ initiative conducted in secret: a worrying trend
26.11.2025
Lot, Aveyron
Hunts at the authorities’ initiative conducted in secret: a worrying trend
Animaux sauvages

In the regions of Lot and Aveyron, hundreds of animals have been killed illegally… and how many more elsewhere in France? In these regions, hunts at the authorities’ initiative have been authorised without any official order being published, nor any public debate being organised. This has clearly been one of the prefectures’ strategies to prevent us from intervening. In the Lot region, no fewer than 33 roe deer and 103 badgers have reportedly been slaughtered in complete secrecy. We demand transparency and an end to the shooting!

After Loire-Atlantique, Lot and Aveyron: how many hunts have been organised in secret?

Last 7 November, in the minutes from a meeting published by the Lot Prefecture, we learned by chance that 125 wild boars, 33 roe deer and 103 badgers had already been killed in 2025 as part of hunts at the authorities’ initiative. The problem is that we have found no trace of the orders authorising these operations.

In Aveyron, according to the hunting federation, the administration has “issued a “historic” number of authorisations this year for the destruction of badgers, either by shooting or trapping” to “compensate for the absence of an additional period” of unearthing following our victories. Again, there is no trace of these authorisations.

How many municipalities –such as Frossay– or regions are currently the objects of such discreet interventions? Sometimes the orders are published… but only after the fact, when the animals are already dead. These practices –which we have denounced all the way to the Council of State– have a single objective: to prevent us from taking legal action to save lives.

For transparency… and an end to culling

All these operations represent genuine parallel hunting seasons conducted by officially appointed huntmasters accompanied by shooters of their choice, and they are regularly annulled by the courts when we challenge them. The justifications are implausible, as in the Nièvre region where the prefecture wanted to have foxes slaughtered on the grounds that they were accused of attacking pheasants bought from farms and released in view of being killed a few days later!

Today, we demand transparency. And even if these orders were correctly published, we would still reject the very principle of these actions which institutionalise the systematic slaughter of wildlife.

In the region of Loire-Atlantique, following our request, the prefecture has committed to publishing all orders. We will make sure of it. And we are writing to the prefects of Lot and Aveyron to ask them to do the same, so that we may intervene wherever we can to save animals!

Reunion Island: the court condemns the digging up of common tenrecs… and the collusion between the State and hunters

Reunion Island: the court condemns the digging up of common tenrecs… and the collusion between the State and hunters
19.11.2025
La Réunion
Reunion Island: the court condemns the digging up of common tenrecs… and the collusion between the State and hunters
Animaux sauvages

For several years, we have been challenging the hunting of common tenrecs on Reunion Island. Like badgers, thousands of them are victims of digging out every year. Despite the prefecture’s full support to this practice and the usual attempts to circumvent justice, the administrative court of Reunion Island has just ruled in our favor across the board by canceling the two decrees that authorized the killings from February to April 2024. This is a victory for the animals and a severe punishment for the prefect, who had allowed hunters to write his decrees.

Repeated victories and a relentless prefect

Nothing is spared for common tenrecs, these little-known animals belonging to a unique species whose appearance resembles that of hedgehogs. Already victims of intensive poaching, every year nearly 100,000 of them are dug up and killed. And this at a time when there are still many young animals that are dependent on their parents.

In February 2024, we obtained an emergency suspension of the digging, authorized by the prefect from February 17 to April 14. Despite this decision, the authorities had yielded to intense pressure from hunters. A few days later, a new decree was adopted to allow the killing of common tenrecs until April 14… with even more days of digging to compensate for the effect of the previous decision. This was clearly a strategy designed to circumvent the justice system.

We say no to backroom deals between the State and hunters to kill common tenrecs!

We also revealed that the decree and the presentation note intended to provide the public with objective information about common tenrecs had been written not by the prefecture’s departments… but by the director of the departmental hunting federation and her lawyer! This was a case of total and unacceptable collusion, which we had confirmed by a bailiff.

For the second time, the court has ruled that the decrees were illegal. Like underground badger hunting, the blind digging up of common tenrecs directly endangers the young, whose killing is nevertheless prohibited. The judges also sanctioned the prefecture’s multiple instances of negligence in the procedure for adopting the order and formally reminded the prefects that they cannot under any circumstances delegate their duties to the hunters themselves!

In Réunion, as elsewhere, thousands of citizens oppose these archaic methods that cause stress, suffering, and death to animals that only want to live in peace. We will not give in! To put an end to this deadly practice, sign our petition for a radical reform of hunting.

November 24 hearing in Béthune: justice for the roosters tortured in Norrent-Fontes

November 24 hearing in Béthune: justice for the roosters tortured in Norrent-Fontes
19.11.2025
Pas-de-Calais
November 24 hearing in Béthune: justice for the roosters tortured in Norrent-Fontes
Exploitation pour le spectacle

On November 24 at 1:30 p.m., at the Béthune legal tribunal, the trial will be held of a cockfighting organizer from Norrent-Fontes (Pas-de-Calais). Between 2021 and 2025, he illegally revived a sadistic practice that had disappeared from this town in 1999. We will be there to remind everyone that “tradition” cannot justify violence.

A practice from another time

Behind the closed doors of the cockfighting arenas, roosters fight to the death. These animals, mutilated and made aggressive by human hands, suffer for the simple pleasure of a bloodthirsty audience. Their combs are cut, their beaks are filed down, and sometimes blades or metal spurs are attached to them to increase the injuries inflicted on their opponents. All this for a bet, a thrill, a “tradition” that some refuse to see disappear and which children can watch, accustoming them from an early age to the glorification of sadism towards animals.

These scenes of extreme violence are neither part of our heritage nor our culture. The images we revealed in the summer of 2025 show what these “fights” really are: synonymous with suffering, stress, and often a slow and painful death, all to the applause of a complicit audience.

Norrent-Fontes: a tradition interrupted since 1999

Like bullfighting, these fights are acts of cruelty and are banned throughout France. However, an unjust exception remains in cases of “uninterrupted local tradition”. In Norrent-Fontes, this practice had ceased since 1999. Despite this, an organizer has revived the fights between 2021 and 2025, even though the prefect of Pas-de-Calais revoked his authorization in 2022. The Lille Administrative Court, in a ruling on December 26, 2024, confirmed that holding these fights in the municipality was simply illegal.

Béthune: a date with justice and compassion

We will be present at the Béthune legal tribunal on November 24 at 1:30 p.m. to make the voice of animals heard, support the prefect’s action, and remind everyone that the law must be applied everywhere, without exception or complacency. This trial is not just about one organizer: it symbolizes the resistance of an old world, one where violence against animals could still be hidden behind the word “tradition”.

Citizens are increasingly rejecting these cruel spectacles. Respect for living beings, compassion, and justice have become shared values. Cockfighting is not a heritage to be preserved, but suffering to be abolished. Together, let’s call for an end to these cruel spectacles: sign our petition!

Wolves in danger: One Voice’s national mobilisation on 22 November

Wolves in danger: One Voice’s national mobilisation on 22 November
13.11.2025
Wolves in danger: One Voice’s national mobilisation on 22 November
Animaux sauvages

Their names are Milo and Mina. They live in the Corrèze region and have had cubs. A discreet family with an exceptional genetic heritage, now threatened with death. While the government wants to make it easier to shoot wolves, and lobbyists are calling for their extermination, a national mobilisation is being organised. On 22 November, voices will be raised across France to defend the wolves.

A fast-track policy of destruction

Last September, the French government announced its intention to simplify the procedures for shooting wolves. Behind these technocratic words lies a brutal reality: to kill more easily, more quickly and with fewer controls. This headlong rush deliberately ignores the fundamental rights of sentient animals, scientific data, solutions for coexistence and ecological issues.

In the same spirit, several agricultural and hunting organisations have intensified their pressure. In the Corrèze region, home to Milo, Mina and their cubs, voices were raised calling for a hunt, with a barely concealed objective: to make this family disappear before they could settle permanently. Our mobilisation led to its cancellation.

22 and 23 November, throughout France

Faced with this political violence, pressure from lobbyists and the State’s failure to fulfil its duty to protect biodiversity, we refuse to remain silent.

Over the weekend of 22 and 23 November*, a coordinated national action will bring together around fifteen activist groups throughout France. In Amancy, Bar-le-Duc, Bordeaux, Brive-la-Gaillarde, Fréjus, La Rochelle, Marseille, Metz, Montpellier, Nice, Paris, Troyes** and many other cities, rallies, symbolic actions, distribution of information and happenings will take place to remind people that wolves have the right to live in peace.

We will not let the worst happen. Because Milo, Mina, their cubs —and all the others— deserve better than a complicit silence.

* Dates, addresses and times of the events are available by clicking on the name of each city.

** Exceptionally, the action planned in Troyes will take place on 15 November.

Peyrelevade: a Chatipi in a medical-social establishment – Inauguration on 13 November

Peyrelevade: a Chatipi in a medical-social establishment – Inauguration on 13 November
04.11.2025
Peyrelevade
Peyrelevade: a Chatipi in a medical-social establishment – Inauguration on 13 November
Animaux familiers

On Thursday 13 November at 2pm, the EEAP MAS du Pays de Millevaches, a Jacques Chirac Foundation establishment, the local association Arist’o Chats and One Voice will inaugurate a new Chatipi in Peyrelevade (Corrèze). Located in the heart of the sensory garden of the facility which welcomes children, teenagers and adults with disabilities, this space aims to protect stray cats while promoting the bond between animals and residents. The goal is for residents to be able to come and see the cats, help feed them, and for the Chatipi space to serve as a support for therapeutic projects and new educational activities related to animals. The inauguration will be attended by Florian Curbelié, director of the EEAP MAS du Pays de Millevaches, Sarah Cadusseau, president of the Arist’o Chats association, and Mathilde Perrot for One Voice.

A concrete and caring initiative

While already involved in animal-assisted therapy, the EEAP MAS wanted to respond in a caring way to the presence of stray cats on its site. Thanks to the support of One Voice, the Arist’o Chats association and its own teams, the establishment has created a safe and sustainable space for these vulnerable animals, integrating their presence into the daily lives of the residents.

The Chatipi thus becomes a regenerative place, where animals play a soothing and mediating role, reducing anxiety, stimulating communication, developing attention and social bonds, and creating landmarks in a familiar and reassuring environment. The young residents can observe the cats, care for them, feed them and interact with them.

For their part, the felines accept it because it is designed for their well-being. It is a project with a strong affective, sensory and emotional impact.

An effective three-way partnership

This project is the result of a close partnership: EEAP MAS kicked off the project with the creation of the concrete foundation and the installation of the hut. The fitting-out was carried out in conjunction with the Arist’o Chats association which will be in charge of trapping the cats and transporting them to the veterinary clinic, as well as providing long-term health monitoring. EEAP MAS will be responsible for maintaining the hut and feeding the cats on a daily basis. It will also cover the animals’ long-term veterinary costs. One Voice has provided funding for the hut, cat flaps, boards, educational trail and initial care (sterilisation, tagging, health tests) for fifteen cats.

In addition, the Refuge Animalier Bortois, which has provided significant support to help the EEAP MAS manage stray cats, will be present at the inauguration. It is a partner of another Chatipi which is due to be inaugurated in Neuvic on the same day, in the morning.

An educational dimension

An educational circuit on the condition of homeless cats will be set up near the Chatipi to raise awareness among children, families and visitors of the problem of feline straying. This initiative aims to change people’s perceptions of these often-invisible animals and to strengthen public involvement in animal welfare. The objective is to confront children, families and visitors with the reality of stray cats while promoting an approach based on respect and kindness towards cats.

📍Inauguration

Date: Thursday 13 November 2025

Time: 2pm

Venue: EEAP MAS du Pays de Millevaches – 12, route du Puy Chabrol, 19290 Peyrelevade.

The inauguration will be followed by a light refreshment

On 13 November, inauguration of a Chatipi for stray cats in Neuvic

On 13 November, inauguration of a Chatipi for stray cats in Neuvic
04.11.2025
Neuvic
On 13 November, inauguration of a Chatipi for stray cats in Neuvic
Animaux familiers

On Thursday 13 November at 9am, One Voice will inaugurate a Chatipi in Neuvic, at Impasse de la Fontaine du Berger. This new shelter intended for stray cats will provide better care for the feline population while raising awareness among residents about their situation.

The inauguration will take place in the presence of Dominique Miermont, Mayor of Neuvic, Angélique Raynaud-Vedrenne, volunteer co-president of the Bortois animal shelter, and Mathilde Perrot for One Voice. The ceremony will be followed by a light refreshment.

Stray cats: vulnerable and dependent creatures

Too often mistakenly perceived as independent and resourceful, stray cats are not capable of surviving on their own in the long run. Deprived of care and shelter, they suffer from cold, hunger and disease, and are sometimes victims of human cruelty.

The Chatipi project provides a safe haven for these invisible animals and gives them a chance to live with dignity, while improving their coexistence with local residents. It also raises awareness among residents about their situation and helps change attitudes: the physical element serves as a reminder that these animals need care and protection, and that they cannot survive with dignity without human intervention. By involving residents – both children and adults – the project also creates, through its educational aspect, a link between animal protection and civic engagement at the very heart of the neighbourhoods concerned.

Acting locally to improve coexistence

Faced with a growing cat population, the municipality of Neuvic wanted to take sustainable action. The aim of this project is twofold: to offer homeless cats a more dignified life and to create a harmonious coexistence with local residents. This initiative reinforces the actions already undertaken by the municipality, in particular sterilisation campaigns.

An effective collaboration between partners

This Chatipi is the result of cooperation between the Neuvic Town Council, the Bortois Animal Shelter and One Voice, which initiated the project.

The town council built and financed the concrete foundation and the fence around the site. Together with its volunteers, it will be responsible for feeding the cats on a daily basis, maintaining the hut and covering any long-term veterinary costs.
The Bortois Animal Shelter was in charge of the interior design of the hut. It will also be responsible for trapping the animals for sterilisation and monitoring their health.
One Voice, for its part, financed the hut, educational boards, cat flaps and dry food. It will also cover the costs of sterilisation, tagging and health tests for fifteen cats.

Eight cats already frequent the Chatipi area. They have been tagged in the name of the town council.

A nationwide animal protection programme

The Chatipi in Neuvic is part of a nationwide programme run by One Voice, which already includes more than sixty facilities across France, located in schools, nursing homes and hospitals. These structures offer stray cats a safe haven while also serving as an educational tool and a means of raising awareness about animal protection.

📍 Practical information

Address: Impasse de la Fontaine du Berger, 19160 Neuvic

Date: Thursday 13 November 2025

Time: 9am

The inauguration will be followed by a light refreshment

Two new Chatipis for stray cats in Hérault – Inaugurations in Montpellier and Azillanet on 19 and 20 November

Two new Chatipis for stray cats in Hérault – Inaugurations in Montpellier and Azillanet on 19 and 20 November
03.11.2025
Hérault
Two new Chatipis for stray cats in Hérault – Inaugurations in Montpellier and Azillanet on 19 and 20 November
Animaux familiers

On Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 November, One Voice will inaugurate two new Chatipis in the Hérault region: in Montpellier, in partnership with the Crous and the association Les Chats libres du Crous, and then in Azillanet, in partnership with the town council and the association Les Minous Libres Azillanetois. These solidarity-based and ethical projects, the third and fourth in the region after those in Villeneuve-lès-Béziers, are part of a concrete approach to protect stray cats and raise awareness of their plight.

Montpellier: a unique partnership with the Crous for the welfare of free-roaming cats

On Tuesday 19 November at 9.30am, One Voice, the association Les Chats libres du Crous and the Crous de Montpellier will inaugurate a new Chatipi in Boutonnet Park (2, rue Monteil).

This solidarity-based and ethical project marks the first collaboration between One Voice and the Crous (regional centre for university and school works), as part of ongoing efforts to protect homeless cats on the campus.

The inauguration will take place in the presence of Delphine Simon, treasurer of the association and deputy head of human resources at the Crous, Julie Vernadat, president of the association, and Mathilde Perrot for One Voice.

Several sterilisation campaigns have been carried out on campus by the town council of Montpellier and other local associations. The Chatipi now perpetuates these efforts by offering cats a safe place to feed, shelter and live with dignity, while raising awareness among students and staff about sterilisation and care.

The project received the support of three complementary partners: the Crous laid the concrete foundation, assembled the hut and the information board, and participates in the daily feeding of the cats and maintenance of the site. The association Les Chats libres du Crous is responsible for trapping and health monitoring and contributes to the purchase of food. One Voice financed the hut, cat flaps and educational board, thirty kilos of dry food, and fifteen sterilizations, taggings, and health tests. In the long term, veterinary and maintenance costs will be shared between the association and the Crous in a joint and cooperative management arrangement.

Azillanet: an exemplary local mobilization for the cats of the village

On Wednesday 20 November at 11am, a Chatipi will be inaugurated on Rue de la Mairie (at the intersection with Rue de la Rampe) in the presence of Mayor Alexandre Dye, Suzanne Hails, president of the Les Minous Libres Azillanetois association, and Mathilde Perrot for One Voice.

In Azillanet, the concrete foundation and a retaining wall were built by the town council, which also helped to assemble the hut with volunteers from the association. Les Minous Libres Azillanetois was in charge of painting, interior fittings (flooring, shelves, linoleum) and financing of these elements, and will provide food, health monitoring and long-term veterinary costs, while One Voice paid for the hut, cat flaps, boards, dry food, sterilisation, tagging and health tests.

Azillanet’s application was approved in view of the urgent situation: the cats were being fed at the side of the road, in a dangerous environment and in the presence of a hostile neighbour. The Chatipi project has made it possible to keep these cats safe, to provide them with a suitable place to live, and to establish a harmonious cohabitation between the felines and the population. There are now nearly fifty stray cats in the town, around thirty of which have already been neutered.

A practical and educational response to feline straying

One Voice, which has been fighting against feline straying in France for years, is developing three-way partnerships between local authorities, local associations and citizens.

The aim is to tag, neuter and treat homeless cats before releasing them back into their original location, which has been equipped with a wooden hut where they can find food, shelter and water.

Beyond the practical protection of stray cats, the Chatipi project has a strong educational dimension. It invites people to reflect on the fate of so-called ‘free’ cats, often mistakenly perceived as happy street animals, when in fact their daily lives are marked by hunger, disease and constant danger.

By creating visible places that are integrated into the life of the local community, Chatipi is changing attitudes and raising awareness among residents and institutions around the need for respectful and responsible coexistence with animals. It embodies a link between animal protection and civic engagement, at the very heart of the regions.

📍 Practical information

Montpellier: Tuesday 19 November, 9.30am – Boutonnet Park (2, rue Monteil).
Azillanet: Wednesday 20 November, 11am – rue de la Mairie (at the intersection with rue de la Rampe).

Court of Appeal hearing: the poachers in the Cher will not get off lightly

Court of Appeal hearing: the poachers in the Cher will not get off lightly
03.11.2025
Cher
Court of Appeal hearing: the poachers in the Cher will not get off lightly
Animaux sauvages

Between 2022 and 2024, six hunters tracked deer and wild boar in their 4x4s in the forests of the Cher region. These acts of unprecedented violence are believed to have cost the lives of dozens of animals… killed or crushed by their tormentors’ vehicles. One Voice has brought a civil action in this case which was documented by the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB), where the poachers were acquitted at the end of April 2025 due to a procedural error. We have appealed and will be present at the Court of Appeal in Bourges on 13 November at 9am to demand a verdict commensurate with the cruelty inflicted.

The six hunters, some of whom are members of the local hunting club, have all admitted to the facts. For nearly two years, they engaged in completely illegal and unusually brutal hunting. At the wheel of their 4x4s, they pursued animals in the middle of the night to kill them with gunshots… or by running them over. In August 2022, a wild boar hit by one of the cars was finished off with a dagger. And this is just one of dozens of victims who were terrorised before being killed, sometimes while being filmed by their executioners.

Possession of unregistered high-calibre weapons, night-time driving on private agricultural land, drunk driving… the list of offences compounding this outburst of cruelty is long.

Justice must be served for the persecuted animals

For their intolerable acts, these bloodthirsty individuals face four years’ imprisonment and a fine of €60,000. However, on 30 April 2025, the Court in Châteauroux acquitted them. The reason? The invalidity of one of the investigative acts, as the OFB identified the six perpetrators using cameras installed without the consent of a magistrate…

We have appealed this decision, refusing to allow a procedural flaw to erase the seriousness of the acts attributed to these trigger-happy individuals. On 13 November at 9am, we hope that the Court of Appeal in Bourges will hand down exemplary sentences, and we also request the withdrawal of their hunting licences, the confiscation of their weapons and a ban on owning new ones.

Join your voice to ours in defending all victims of hunting by signing our petition for a radical reform of this deadly practice.