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Baby has died: chronicle of an abject abandonment

Baby has died: chronicle of an abject abandonment

Baby has died: chronicle of an abject abandonment
30.01.2026
Tunisie
Baby has died: chronicle of an abject abandonment
Exploitation for shows

Baby, an African elephant captured in the wild as a calf, for whom One Voice has fought for two decades, died yesterday at the Belvédère Zoo in Tunis. After more than thirty years of abuse and political failings, her death is no accident: it is the result of a system that sacrifices wild animals amid a general indifference.

A stolen life of boundless cruelty

Baby was only two years old in 1985 when she was torn from her family on the African savannah. Like so many other baby elephants, she was captured to feed the entertainment industry. From then on, her life was no longer her own.
Baby was trained, violently, by Gilbert Yeuk Bauer, to endure all forms of humiliation: degrading circus acts, film shoots, television shows, commercials, commercial events and private events. Rented out like an object, presented everywhere as a veritable
freak show, for anything and everything, Baby never knew any respect, let alone freedom. When she was not being exhibited, she was locked up in the darkness of a circus truck. She was spared nothing. Alerts ignored, responsibilities evaded
Since 2005, One Voice has been following Baby’s ordeal. Investigations, reports, legal action, offers to take her into a sanctuary: everything has been tried. Convictions were obtained against her trainer. However, Baby was never taken away
from him. The authorities let it happen.
In 2023, her operator got rid of her by sending her to a Tunisian zoo, without any
intervention from the French Ministry of Ecological Transition. This transfer felt like an
additional sentence, far from prying eyes and from responsibilities.

The Belvédère Zoo: the final prison

In the summer of 2023, One Voice visited the Belvédère Zoo in Tunisia. This place is known for its serious shortcomings: in 2017, for example, a crocodile was killed by stones thrown by visitors.
Baby was surviving there alone, even though elephants are deeply social animals. She was suffering from serious leg problems and was not receiving appropriate care. Permanently exposed to the public, she was subjected to intrusions, littering, and
inappropriate food given to her by visitors who crossed the barriers.

Baby’s death is the result of political choices, administrative failings and a system that continues to tolerate the exploitation of wild animals by circus trainers. Her death forces us to face up to what the entertainment and captivity industry does to animals.
We refuse to allow others to suffer the same fate, like the hippopotamus Jumbo who is soon to be the next victim.

Baby is dead: chronicle of an abject abandonment

Baby, an elephant exploited throughout her life, has died in Tunis. A symbol of a
complicit system, the French authorities abandoned her.

Thanks to our action, the Prefect withdraws orders allowing hunters to slaughter wild boar in Seine-Maritime

Thanks to our action, the Prefect withdraws orders allowing hunters to slaughter wild boar in Seine-Maritime

Thanks to our action, the Prefect withdraws orders allowing hunters to slaughter wild boar in Seine-Maritime
29.01.2026
Seine Maritime
Thanks to our action, the Prefect withdraws orders allowing hunters to slaughter wild boar in Seine-Maritime
Wildlife

Since 1 January, and while the hunting season is still open, all huntmasters in Seine-Maritime could take out their weapons to shoot wild boar without any restrictions throughout the year. Too numerous, too much damage… the arguments are always the same. How many of these animals will have been sacrificed for the leisure activities of a few? One Voice has taken the matter to court in order to obtain an emergency suspension of the cull. Even before the hearing (scheduled for 3 February), the Prefect withdrew all his orders, proving
that this umpteenth gift to hunters was illegal.

When 2026 rhymed with wild boar massacres

Hunted in winter during the hunting season and classified as a species likely to cause damage (ESOD), wild boar have long been the preferred target of hunters. After the unlimited night-time shooting in Moselle, the Prefect of Seine-Maritime authorised huntmasters throughout the region to kill wild boar without limit, day or night, from 1 January to 31 December 2026. This amounted to a permanent authorisation to slaughter them indiscriminately.
These animals, which are emblematic of our forests, are persecuted everywhere and by all means. In addition to being valuable in and of themselves, they are also useful within ecosystems – a fact too often forgotten. Their presence helps to aerate the soil by turning it over: without them, microbial activity would be endangered which would lead to the loss of the phenomenon known as ‘bioturbation’.
Hunting: a completely outdated pastime for which wild boar pay a heavy price Prefects are constantly brandishing the same scare tactics (damage, overpopulation, etc.) to conceal the responsibility of hunting in the current situation. It should not be forgotten that these animals adapt and increase their birth rate as soon as one of their own loses its life. Added to this is feeding, which artificially nourishes them. Is it any wonder then that populations are increasing? Worse still, some wild boar are bred and slaughtered in enclosures. Under these conditions, how can we believe the rhetoric of ‘regulation’? It is high time to implement alternatives to these mass culls. In response to these orders, we took the matter to the administrative court to obtain an emergency suspension. Even before the hearing was held, the Prefect withdrew them, thus sparing the wild boar.
This withdrawal does not however in any way reflect a change of heart in favour of wild boar. It is solely due to a legal point that was overlooked by the Prefecture. We therefore remain fully vigilant: if the Prefect were to issue new orders, we would
challenge them again without hesitation.

To speak up for wild boar against those who want to eradicate them, sign our
petitions for a radical reform of hunting!

Thanks to our action, the Prefect withdraws orders allowing hunters to
slaughter wild boar in Seine-Maritime

Another victory for wolves in the Alpes-Maritimes!

Another victory for wolves in the Alpes-Maritimes!

Another victory for wolves in the Alpes-Maritimes!
29.01.2026
Alpes Maritimes
Another victory for wolves in the Alpes-Maritimes!
Wildlife

The Administrative Court in Nice has just overturned — in whole or in part — seven orders signed by the Prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes in January 2025 authorising the shooting of wolves.

In its decision, the court found that these shootings had been authorised in violation of the legal requirements: no proven attacks, no prior measures, authorisations extended to municipalities where there was no justification for them. In other words, on the basis of these authorisations, wolves could be shot illegally.

The Prefecture repeats its illegal actions

This legal victory does not erase the underlying scandal: regulations that allow the killing of members of a protected species, and a Prefecture that persists in issuing illegal authorisations until the courts stop it. This is not the first time that the Prefecture of Alpes-Maritimes has been called to order by the courts as a result of our actions: in February 2025, the Administrative Court in Nice had already suspended, at our request, six orders authorising the killing of wolves in this region. On 17 October of last year, we had thirteen others orders of the same type permanently cancelled. On 7 January 2026, another one was also cancelled.
It is scandalous enough that the regulations authorise the killing of wolves; it is even more serious that the State does not respect the rules in force. We will continue to fight to ensure that wolves cease to be the silent victims of political decisions.
To enable wolves to finally live in peace, sign our petition!
Stop the persecution of wolves!

Another victory for wolves in the Alpes-Maritimes!

Stay informed and share the latest news!

Stop à la persécution des loups ! Stop à la persécution des loups ! Stop à la persécution des loups ! Stop à la persécution des loups ! Stop à la persécution des loups ! Stop à la persécution des loups ! Stop à la persécution des loups ! Stop à la persécution des loups ! Stop à la persécution des loups ! Stop à la persécution des loups !

Ten tigers rescued from a lorry: the Court of Appeal in Amiens upholds landmark conviction

Ten tigers rescued from a lorry: the Court of Appeal in Amiens upholds landmark conviction

Ten tigers rescued from a lorry: the Court of Appeal in Amiens upholds landmark conviction
28.01.2026
France
Ten tigers rescued from a lorry: the Court of Appeal in Amiens upholds landmark conviction
Exploitation for shows

In October 2025, the trainer of ten tigers rescued from a lorry following a high- risk investigation by One Voice was back in court after appealing his first- instance conviction. On Wednesday 28 January 2026, the Court of Appeal in Amiens upheld Mario Masson’s conviction, in particular for mistreatment of animals by a professional (a criminal offence), handing down a new landmark ruling with exemplary penalties.

Ten tigers rescued from a life of suffering

In 2019, we discovered ten tigers in the courtyard of an abandoned building, crammed into a lorry from which they were only taken out for a few rare appearances in shows. To rescue them from this hell, we had to prove that they were permanently locked up in the lorry, so we investigated relentlessly for over a year, uncovering serious and repeated offences.
In December 2020, after reviewing our footage, the authorities ordered the largest seizure of tigers in Europe. We were on site to free the ten captives and transfer them to our partner sanctuary, Tonga Terre d’Accueil, where they could finally receive the proper care and discover the pleasure of walking and feeling the grass under their paws. Two years later, their trainer Mario Masson was heavily sentenced in the first instance. For the mistreatment of the big cats over many years, he was fined, had the animals confiscated and was banned from working with animals for two years. We immediately welcomed this necessary decision.

Mario Masson found guilty: a heavier sentence handed down by the Court of
Appeal

Despite overwhelming evidence, the notorious trafficker of baby felines and torturer of Rani, Tim, Leo, Tara, Yma, Oona, Dian, Ashley, Lily and Douglas appealed. On 6 October 2025, we were again face to face with him in the Court of Appeal in Amiens to once again speak out on behalf of his victims. On Wednesday 28 January, the judges ruled in our favour once again. The Court confirmed the permanent confiscation of the tigers and the conviction of the trainer who now, instead of a €5,000 fine, has been given a 12-month suspended prison sentence and a ban from working with animals for two years.

This decision sends a strong message: animals exploited by circuses are not mere puppets that circus performers can deprive of food or keep locked up in trailers day and night. Wherever trainers abuse animals, we will be there, ready to take action with the authorities.

We welcome the appeal conviction of Mario Masson on Wednesday 28 January. The tigers he tortured for years are finally out of danger. For all those who are waiting to be freed from their chains, we remain fully mobilised. Join us in calling for an end to the exploitation of animals in circuses, by signing our petition.
Ten tigers rescued from a lorry: the Court of Appeal in Amiens upholds a landmark conviction

Mario Masson, the trainer of the ten tigers rescued by One Voice in 2020.

Expansion of the animal experimentation facility in Rousset: 93% of opinions against

Expansion of the animal experimentation facility in Rousset: 93% of opinions against

Expansion of the animal experimentation facility in Rousset: 93% of opinions against
21.01.2026
Rousset, Bouches-du-Rhône Expansion of the animal experimentation facility in Rousset: 93% of opinions against
Expérimentation animale

Following One Voice’s campaign against the planned expansion of the primatology centre in Rousset, the CNRS finally launched a preliminary consultation… in which the vast majority of respondents rejected this project for the intensive breeding of primates for laboratories. This remarkable mobilisation was confirmed by the guarantor of the National Commission for Public Debate (CNDP). One Voice once again denounces this cynical plan which belongs to another era, and calls for its outright abandonment.

An anachronistic project employing shameful methods

Stuck in the past, the CNRS has set itself the goal of tripling the number of monkeys held at the current Primatology Station in Rousset by 2029, thanks to no less than €30 million in public investment funding at launch, to become one of the main suppliers of primates destined for laboratories and for many years of suffering. This is in total contradiction with European commitments to reduce the number of animals used in experiments… and with public opinion, which is strongly opposed to these outdated practices. Not content with perpetuating them at the cost of the lives of thousands of primates each year, the CNRS, yielding to our mobilisation, launched a preliminary consultation that was neither ‘voluntary’ nor ‘transparent’, but rather a promotional brochure. It placed numerous obstacles in the way of a clear understanding of the project and its implications, going so far as to wait until an hour and a half before the last public meeting to publish the France 2023 public subsidy file and the report on the impact on fauna and flora, even though these had been requested from the very first day, on 16 October. The minutes of the various meetings and visits that took place after 25 October were not published at the end of the consultation period…

Animal advocates up in arms

These dirty tricks did not prevent the French people from rejecting this shameful project. Their eyes were opened to the unspeakable suffering of the animals involved, and they responded accordingly. In 2024, we called on the government to demand official documents, then, in April 2025, joined by 150 partner associations alongside the Collectif Vauclusien de Protection Animale, we mobilised in front of the town hall in Rousset. Finally, from 16 October to 16 November, we distributed more than 1,000 leaflets and organised more than a dozen grassroot events. Our efforts paid off, and more than 2,296 opinions were submitted on the platform.

A massive opposition to the breeding project… and to animal experimentation!

93% of the respondents to the consultation were opposed to this project for the intensive breeding of primates for laboratories. This is a real victory, and the guarantor was quick to highlight this impressive result, estimating that 81% of the opinions concerned issues of ethics and animal welfare. Better still, citizens were able to join us in expressing their astonishment at the lack of a national strategy to phase out animal experimentation, in contrast to a growing number of neighbouring countries that have virtually stopped  experimenting on monkeys. And indeed, how can we understand that a breeding facility that contravenes European Directive 2010/63/EU is approved… and financed with public money? The guarantor also noted that the opacity of decision-making and the lack of transparency of the protocols, which we have always denounced, were problematic for respondents. And that’s not all, as citizens went even further in also questioning animal experimentation. Our 2023 survey already showed this, with 74% of French people opposed to the very principle of these cruel experiments. At a time when the first alternatives based on artificial intelligence are officially validated abroad, it is time for the French State to take the full measure of this necessary desire forchange!

Important recommendations

At the end of the consultation, the guarantor recommends, among other things:
–  that the CNRS’s response and its justifications be presented at a public meeting attended by the guarantor;
–  the establishment of an ongoing consultation with the presence of a CNDP guarantor in order to provide the information that is still missing, particularly concerning the risks to biodiversity, nature and health, as well as answers to the many questions that were left unanswered during the preliminary consultation;
– a detailed justification of the ethical questions raised by citizens.

The full report and recommendations are available via this link.
The animal experimentation lobby is lying in wait

However, One Voice disagrees with the guarantor when he does not question the fact
that the president of Gircor, the animal experimentation lobby in France, was
presented solely as a promoter of the project during the preliminary meetings. It is
incomprehensible to claim that concealing such information ‘is not likely to distort
public perception or the transparency of the debates’. We were forced to tone down
this common-sense statement in our stakeholder report so that it could be published
on the consultation platform.

The results of the preliminary consultation on the proposed expansion of the primatology centre are clear. We expect the CNRS to respond within the mandatory two-month period, putting an end to this opaque and anachronistic plan as requested by the vast majority of French people who have expressed their views. The €30 million of taxpayers’ money must go towards the development of alternative methods. Whatever the response, we remain fully committed to ensuring that no additional monkeys are bred in Rousset, where many primates are already awaiting transfer to a nightmarish life as laboratory animals.

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Recurring acts of violence by a breeder against horses: One Voice files a complaint

Recurring acts of violence by a breeder against horses: One Voice files a complaint

Recurring acts of violence by a breeder against horses: One Voice files a complaint
19.01.2026
Savigné-l’Évêque, Sarthe
Recurring acts of violence by a breeder against horses: One Voice files a complaint
Animaux familiers

The images are shocking. In the Sarthe region, a breeder and trainer of Arabian thoroughbreds was filmed on numerous occasions beating panicked horses who were unable to escape as the blows rained down on them relentlessly. The man has already been convicted by the courts for domestic violence. At the end of December 2025, One Voice filed a complaint with the court in Le Mans on behalf of the horses. They must be brought to safety, and the link between violence against humans and against animals must finally be recognised.

In videos taken by whistleblowers, horses are being kicked in the stomach, punched and whipped while being held firmly by the reins… Completely terrified, they have no way of escaping the extreme brutality of their tormentor. Yet it is not for lack of trying to escape, always in vain, as in the case of the pony Happy, for whom we filed a complaint in 2023. One of them is limping, and we can only wonder what injuries the others have suffered in addition to the psychological trauma endured. According to witnesses, this abuse is not unusual. On the contrary, it is an integral part of the breeder’s “method”.

Both animal and human victims

The man was convicted in 2023 for domestic violence against his ex-partner. Why are we not surprised? Since 2007, we have been working tirelessly to raise awareness of the obvious link between interpersonal violence and violence towards animals, a link documented by numerous studies. We think of Léa, a little dog traumatised by the sexual abuse by a paedophile, but also of Django, a young mastiff crossbreed shot by an individual who had been threatening his family with racist and misogynistic insults, and Mirsou, a little cat brutally killed by the ex-partner of the woman with whom he lived. It is vital that acts of cruelty against animals are finally taken seriously and recognised as indicators of potential danger to humans as well. The FBI, for example, has been doing this for decades.

For the tortured horses, we have taken the case to the court in Le Mans. We hope for a sentence that reflects the intolerable acts they have suffered. Sign our petition to grant horses and ponies protected status as domestic animals.

Jumbo in great distress: a wildlife veterinarian sounds the alarm

Jumbo in great distress: a wildlife veterinarian sounds the alarm

Jumbo in great distress: a wildlife veterinarian sounds the alarm
15.01.2026
Tarn-et-Garonne
Jumbo in great distress: a wildlife veterinarian sounds the alarm
Exploitation for shows

On 27 and 28 December 2025, One Voice once again filmed the hippopotamus Jumbo while the Muller-Zavatta circus, where he has been held captive for nearly forty years, was setting up in Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne). The report by the veterinary expert who studied these images is unequivocal: Jumbo is suffering terribly. The association is once again filing a complaint against his torturers and calling on animal rights activists to write to the Ministry of Ecological Transition.

At forty years old, Jumbo is still being exploited by the trainers who have made him the star attraction of their business. When he is not locked in his metal trailer or left alone to pace around in a makeshift enclosure, he is laboriously dragged onto the circus ring, transformed against his will into a freak show animal delivered to the crowd of spectators. As an amphibious hippopotamus, he should be spending sixteen hours a day in the warm waters of the rivers from which he was torn as a youngster. The vet who has viewed our latest videos does not hide his concern. Jumbo is in bad shape. Suffering from a degenerative joint disease and severely overweight (one tonne too heavy), he struggles to walk, and the cold is likely to exacerbate his pain. Worse still, the wildlife specialist describes the hippopotamus as “one of the most serious cases of animal abuse in captivity [he has] ever seen”.

Despite his debilitating condition, the circus forces Jumbo to perform during opening hours and days, and it seems that he will have to continue doing so until the day he dies or until the day he can no longer move. Dr David Perpiñan Veterinarian with over twenty years’ experience working with wild animals

Ten years of relentless campaigning

Since 2016, we have been tracking Jumbo’s movements in the south of France, investigating tirelessly, timing the little time he spends outside the lorry where he is locked up, filming and photographing his conditions of detention in order to better denounce them… Every year, we have increased the number of demonstrations and appeals to the authorities, filing numerous complaints of mistreatment. In 2019, we finally managed to organise his rescue. Faced with the violence of the circus staff, the authorities decided to cancel the confiscation… Since then, we have not given up, continuing to gather evidence against those who exploit Jumbo.

The government has abandoned the animals

While we fight tirelessly for him, the state has continued to spit in the face of the animals it claimed to defend when it passed the law against animal abuse in November 2021. From the outset, the ambitions were weak: exclusion of domestic animals from the law, a ban on the keeping of wild animals only for travelling circuses and only from 2028 onwards… Since then, the government has done much worse. Dismissing our proposal to help circus performers retrain, it prefers to pay them to continue keeping animals, without offering them any alternative accommodation. The icing on the cake is that these jailers, handsomely paid with taxpayers’ money, will only have to settle down to continue their abuse… and even their shows!

We are filing a new complaint against the Muller-Zavatta circus for all the cruelty it inflicts on Jumbo. You too can call on the Ministry of Ecological Transition by writing to them*. And sign our petition to save Jumbo!

*A template letter is available at the following link. It can be sent by post to the address indicated, or directly online.

To have Jumbo placed in a sanctuary: sign the petition To have Jumbo placed in a sanctuary: sign the petition To have Jumbo placed in a sanctuary: sign the petition To have Jumbo placed in a sanctuary: sign the petition To have Jumbo placed in a sanctuary: sign the petition To have Jumbo placed in a sanctuary: sign the petition To have Jumbo placed in a sanctuary: sign the petition To have Jumbo placed in a sanctuary: sign the petition To have Jumbo placed in a sanctuary: sign the petition To have Jumbo placed in a sanctuary: sign the petition

Night-time shooting of wild boars in Moselle: an order without limits

Night-time shooting of wild boars in Moselle: an order without limits

Night-time shooting of wild boars in Moselle: an order without limits
13.01.2026
Moselle
Night-time shooting of wild boars in Moselle: an order without limits
Wildlife

In the Moselle region, the prefect has authorised hunters to kill wild boar at night, using lights and military equipment, for a period of four months. To protect these animals who are being persecuted day and night without respite, One Voice is calling for the urgent suspension of this order. Hearing on 14 January at 11am at the Administrative Court in Strasbourg.

In the Moselle region, the prefect authorises the “destruction” (sic) of wild boar at night, from a hide, using light sources and thermal imaging equipment, from 13 December 2025 to 14 April 2026. To protect these persecuted animals, One Voice is calling for the urgent suspension of this order. The hearing will take place on 14 January at 11am at the Administrative Court in Strasbourg.

A generalised authorisation

The decree allows an unlimited number of night-time shootings throughout the region, covering 725 municipalities, for 122 days, with no limit on the number of animals killed. Hunters are free to kill them at night and to be accompanied by an unlimited number of shooters. As it stands, this text paves the way for the potential slaughter of hundreds, even thousands, of wild boar. A massacre.

Hunting from a hide involves waiting motionless for an animal to pass by and then shooting it by surprise. At night, with the use of lighting or thermal devices, this means that the wild boar have no chance of escape, and carnage is inevitable.

Wild boar hunted all year round

Wild boar are already the most hunted animals in Moselle. The hunting calendar gives them only two weeks of respite per year. Fifteen short days of peace without bullets whizzing by, out of the whole year. Allowing night shooting for several months on top of that is tantamount to creating permanent hunting pressure. This means round-the-clock terror for all wildlife trying to survive in the region. This trivialisation of violence is part of a worrying climate of contempt, where wild boar can be treated like common rubbish.

This pressure is exerted using military-grade hunting weapons with a range of several kilometres, which poses serious risks to public safety for both residents and walkers.

A so-called “regulation”

Presented as a regulatory measure, this decision is based on a misinterpretation. Despite record culls —881,372 wild boar killed in 2024-2025— populations continue to grow, and agricultural damage persists. Across the country, wild boar are now being relentlessly hunted, as in the Indre region, where the prefecture has invented the absurd concept of ‘affinity hunting’ to justify ever more killings, or in Gard and Corsica, where illegal hunts have been authorised. Hunting perpetuates a vicious circle of which it is both the cause and the main beneficiary. And the prefecture is once again allowing hunters to indulge in their hobby with almost total freedom.

Justice in the face of guns

One Voice has taken legal action and is seeking the urgent suspension of this prefectural order. The hearing will be held on 14 January at 11am at the Administrative Court in Strasbourg. Wildlife cannot be sacrificed for the sake of a leisure activity without limits, in defiance of the law, public safety and respect for living beings. In the meantime, sign and share our petition for a radical reform of hunting.

Seven associations launch a petition to remove foxes from the list of “Species Likely to Cause Damage”

Seven associations launch a petition to remove foxes from the list of “Species Likely to Cause Damage”

Seven associations launch a petition to remove foxes from the list of “Species Likely to Cause Damage”
12.01.2026
Seven associations launch a petition to remove foxes from the list of “Species Likely to Cause Damage”
Animaux sauvages

A petition to the National Assembly aims to remove red foxes from the ESOD list to stop them being culled by the thousands. Our associations are calling for citizen mobilisation and are organising actions in 11 cities on 17 January to raise public awareness about the issues at stake.

An official petition has been submitted to the National Assembly to request the end of the classification of red foxes as a “species likely to cause damage” (ESOD). The associations behind this initiative are calling for urgent citizen mobilisation to put an end to the mass culling of these animals. To educate the general public on the subject and highlight the issues at stake in this petition, One Voice is organising a day of grassroot actions in 11 cities on Saturday 17 January.

ESOD classification leads to mass culling

Every year in France, at least 500,000 foxes are killed by shooting, trapping or digging out, practices made possible by their inclusion on the ESOD list, in 88 departments to date. This chilling figure highlights an alarming reality: foxes are subjected to these cruel practices on a large scale, for instance digging out, a method long documented by our associations as being particularly barbaric.

The fox, an essential ally for the environment and public health

However, this persecution has no scientific basis. Foxes are major allies in our territories: they control rodents that damage crops and carry diseases such as Lyme disease, thereby reducing agricultural losses, dependence on toxic rodenticides and the spread of a zoonosis that affects tens of thousands of people every year in France.

As omnivorous animals that spread plant species, and scavengers that eliminate carcasses, they are also an essential link in our ecosystems.

Fox “regulation” has proven to be ineffective

In 2023, ANSES confirmed that foxes do not pose a risk to public health. They have not been carriers of rabies since the disease was eradicated in 2001, and culling them increases the spread of echinococcosis.

The alleged damage is equally unfounded, with studies –including the CARELI programme– showing that killing foxes does nothing to reduce predation and that only appropriate protection of chicken coops is truly effective.

Finally, a natural regulation of the species is perfectly ensured through the availability of resources as illustrated by the results in Luxembourg where the cessation of fox hunting has caused neither overpopulation nor ecological imbalance. These conclusions have been confirmed by several recent scientific reports and studies which highlight the ineffectiveness of fox “regulation” measures (FRB, 2023) and expressly recommend removing these animals from the ESOD list (IGEDD, 13 February 2025).

The Council of State has already partially cancelled their classification in the regions of Aveyron, Haute-Loire and Lozère due to a lack of justification for systematic culling. On this occasion, the public rapporteur considered that “reason dictates that the ESOD system should be completely overhauled”.

Majority opposition from public opinion

Public opinion is also clear: 65% of French people are against this classification, and 71% oppose these massacres (IFOP poll, 2023).

With the massive collapse of biodiversity, 2026 is set to be a pivotal year for increased species conservation. It must not be a year in which the three-year decree keeping foxes on the ESOD list is renewed in complete contradiction with legal and scientific data and societal expectations.

Animal Cross, Aves France, ASPAS, Focale pour le Sauvage, FERUS, Pôle Grands Prédateurs and One Voice are jointly calling on the Ministry of Ecological Transition to end the classification of foxes as “ESOD”.

For them, every voice counts. To change the law authorising this deadly list, we are calling on the general public to sign and share our joint petition to the National Assembly.

One Voice is organising a day of action in 11 cities on 17 January

To raise public awareness about the issue and highlight the importance of this petition, One Voice is organising a day of action on 17 January in 11 cities: Fréjus (83), Nice (06), Metz (57), Brive-la-Gaillarde (19), Montpellier (34), Bar-le-Duc (55), Nantes (44), Troyes (10) and Limoges (87). Two other actions are planned, on 18 January in Toulouse (31) and on 24 January in La Rochelle (17) (details to follow).

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How the government plans to shower public money on circuses that are becoming sedentary while allowing them to continue mistreating wild animals

How the government plans to shower public money on circuses that are becoming sedentary while allowing them to continue mistreating wild animals

How the government plans to shower public money on circuses that are becoming sedentary while allowing them to continue mistreating wild animals
06.01.2026
France
How the government plans to shower public money on circuses that are becoming sedentary while allowing them to continue mistreating wild animals
Animaux sauvages

On 2 December 2025, the government announced the upcoming launch of a call for expressions of interest (AMI) to support travelling circuses in their conversion to stationary establishments. In these second-rate, completely illegal zoos, the confinement and training of wild animals will continue, as the State has definitively given up on offering them retirement in sanctuaries. One Voice denounces yet another betrayal of the spirit of the law against animal abuse passed in 2021 and will not hesitate to take legal action if this project goes ahead.

As early as January 2021, we sounded the alarm about the dramatic consequences of a law targeting only travelling circuses. By allowing these establishments to become sedentary, the ambition to end the exploitation of wild animals in circuses has been abandoned in favour of a simple ban on travelling… A superficial measure which, while sparing captive individuals long journeys, does not protect them from the violence of training or the cruelty of confinement… Parc Saint-Léger, against which we filed another complaint in 2023, already gives a chilling glimpse of what awaits these sedentary animals: tiny enclosures, empty feeding bowls, spectators invited to enter the enclosures at the risk of injuring those imprisoned there…

As early as January 2021, we sounded the alarm about the dramatic consequences of a law targeting only travelling circuses. By allowing these establishments to become sedentary, the ambition to end the exploitation of wild animals in circuses has been abandoned in favour of a simple ban on travelling… A superficial measure which, while sparing captive individuals long journeys, does not protect them from the violence of training or the cruelty of confinement… Parc Saint-Léger, against which we filed another complaint in 2023, already gives a chilling glimpse of what awaits these sedentary animals: tiny enclosures, empty feeding bowls, spectators invited to enter the enclosures at the risk of injuring those imprisoned there… Ministry of Ecological Transition 2 December 2025

The State is abandoning the animals: we are fighting back

On 3 July 2023, a new milestone had already been reached with the publication of a ministerial decree establishing an equivalence between circus performers’ certificates of competence and those of zoos, allowing trainers who become sedentary to keep animals of new species, such as giraffes, for example. We obviously challenged this scandalous text. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Ecological Transition deliberately failed to publish the decrees implementing the law, starting with the one on the breeding of big cats, and also failed to finance sanctuaries. For months, it has allowed circus operators to breed lion and tiger cubs left, right and centre in order to fuel illegal trafficking, and to rid themselves, in the worst possible conditions, of the elephants they had kept locked up their entire lives.

In 2024, we challenged the Council of State on the distinction between stationary and travelling establishments. Our request was forwarded to the Constitutional Council where we argued for a ban on wild animals in all circuses.

In its response to a written question from MP Corinne Vignon, proposing support for the sedentarisation of travelling establishments, the government is therefore persisting in its disregard for the spirit of the law of November 2021 and in its determination to continue, at all costs, the worst form of mistreatment of wild animals, many of which belong to endangered species. If this shameful call for expressions of interest is launched, we will react immediately. Sign our petition to add your voice to ours in calling for a ban on animals in circuses.

Stop animals in circuses! Stop animals in circuses! Stop animals in circuses! Stop animals in circuses! Stop animals in circuses! Stop animals in circuses! Stop animals in circuses! Stop animals in circuses! Stop animals in circuses! Stop animals in circuses!