News Archive - One voice

Animal experimentation: France complicit in transfers to a laboratory of shame

Animal experimentation: France complicit in transfers to a laboratory of shame
06.05.2026
France, Spain
Animal experimentation: France complicit in transfers to a laboratory of shame
Animal testing

Alerted by our Spanish partner Abolición Vivisección, we immediately contacted the French authorities, demanding all documents relating to these sales. The documented shipments began in 2021. Over five years, we have counted hundreds of puppies and young primates shipped without ceremony from France to Spain. Final destination: the Vivotecnica laboratory, known for acts of animal abuse that are massive, filmed and indisputable. These cruel acts were tried on 7 May 2026 in Madrid. Behind the suffering inflicted on millions of animals by laboratories every year, there is a thriving business.

© Cruelty Free International – Carlotta Saorsa

Babies without identity, reduced to numbers

We know almost nothing about them.

No name. No history. Reduced to mere numbers on tattoos or microchips, 355 puppies, 4 long-tailed macaques and 32 primates – whose species are not even specified – were sent from France to the Spanish laboratory Vivotecnica between 2021 and 2025.

The only certainty at this stage regarding their identity: they are babies – puppies aged between 4 and 6 months, and young monkeys ranging from a few months to two and a half years old. Torn prematurely from their mothers, they endured journeys lasting 11 to 21 hours – an interminable ordeal. The beginning of a living hell.

Atrocities revealed in 2021, only brought to trial on 7 May 2026

Once locked up in Vivotecnica’s cells, their fate is sealed: these young animals are subjected to toxicity tests for the food, chemical and cosmetics industries all day long. Yet, since 2021, this laboratory has been at the centre of a major scandal. That year, an investigation carried out by Cruelty Free International – a coalition of which One Voice is a member – brought to light systematic acts of cruelty: slaps, insults, restraints. Acts that could go as far as the killing of some of them in full view of their fellow sufferers. The images sent shockwaves through Spain and beyond, leading to the suspension of Vivotecnica’s operating licence by the Spanish authorities. The investigation revealed an entire system based on violence. Yet their licence was reinstated in exchange for a paltry fine of 37,000 euros. In total, 25 offences were identified by the Madrid regional government following the revelations. Given the seriousness of the events, the Spanish organisations FAADA and AnimaNaturalis have filed a complaint to ensure these appalling practices do not go unpunished. The trial brought by several organisations, including Cruelty Free International, against two employees, begins on 7 May 2026.

French breeding farms for laboratories at the heart of the scandal

How, under these circumstances—known since 2021—can France authorise such sales? Our investigations have shown that the animals come from the Yonne and Allier regions, the location of the Beagle and Golden Retriever breeding farms in Mézilles and Gannat, which are owned by the American giant Marshall BioResources (MBR), against whom we have been campaigning for many years.

As for the primates, a crucial piece of information has removed all ambiguity. The Prefecture of the Bas-Rhin region has confirmed to us that they do indeed come from the Silabe laboratory. This establishment, which we have been denouncing for many years as a European hub for the trade in macaques and a future supplier to the threefold-extended breeding facility in Rousset, thus stands out as a central link in this opaque industry.

Extract from transport documents

Animal suffering, economic interests and cross-border health risks

Beyond the ethical concerns, this trade in living beings also raises serious public health issues. Primates used in laboratories pose risks of disease transmission, regularly highlighted in health alerts. Vivotecnica has, in fact, been directly named in the Spanish press in this regard.

One Voice demands answers

These exports are not isolated incidents: they are part of the vast profits generated by animal experimentation, as in the case of the 1,600 beagles from the Mézilles breeding facility imported to Italy in 2025, for whom we are still fighting alongside LAV.

France remains at the forefront of this ethical disaster, with over 2 million animals used in 2023, a figure that has remained unchanged for 10 years, evidence of persistent inaction.

Meanwhile, previously unseen footage, filmed over a decade and up until 2025 by a whistleblower in British laboratories, serves as a stark reminder that extreme suffering, shattered lives and organised silence are still very much a reality.

The conclusion is clear: France is not content merely with widespread abuse; it blindly supplies lab animals to the entire European network of laboratories, even the worst ones. It is time to put an end to this. No research based on fear, pain and death is justifiable.

Court hearing in Marseille: wolves filmed illegally in the Calanques National Park

Court hearing in Marseille: wolves filmed illegally in the Calanques National Park
23.04.2026
Calanques National Park
Court hearing in Marseille: wolves filmed illegally in the Calanques National Park
Animaux sauvages

When passion becomes intrusion: filming wolves out of love for nature also means disturbing them, with dramatic consequences for the packs. A documentary crew will face charges of intentionally disturbing a protected species on 27 April at the Judicial Court in Marseille. Already facing de-classification and poaching, wolves must not also have to endure the pursuit of footage.

In September 2025, a team linked to a wildlife documentary project entered the heart of the Calanques National Park to film a pack of wolves accompanied by cubs. The site was protected. Any recording of images or sound relating to this species was explicitly prohibited there. The team knew this. And yet…

The videographer admitted to filming without authorisation, setting up camera traps – which are also prohibited – and actively seeking out the animals prior to filming. Communications even reveal a deliberate intention to film the wolves whilst avoiding attracting the attention of the authorities. The director admitted to having approved these shots. The production company, for its part, denies any direct involvement.

Shortly after the incident, the pack abandoned the site

Wolves are a species particularly vulnerable to disturbance, especially during the breeding season. Repeated human presence, recording equipment installed in the immediate vicinity, filming in the heart of a sensitive site… all these factors constitute disturbances that can lead to the abandonment of pups, forced relocation or even the permanent loss of a territory. Consequences that are invisible on screen but very real indeed!

This is precisely what the law aims to prevent. The rules governing the recording of sound and images in a national park are not administrative red tape. They are a condition for the species’ survival. Observing or filming wildlife is never harmless, even with the best of intentions. Indeed, the pack abandoned the site after the incident.

The race for the perfect images: a new threat?

This case raises a crucial issue. Recording technologies – camera traps, drones, miniaturised cameras – are now accessible to everyone. And social media reward the most spectacular footage.

This quest creates growing pressure on wildlife, exerted not only by hunters or poachers, but also by naturalists, photographers and passionate filmmakers. Yet, paradoxically, a love of wild animals can harm them when it is accompanied by an overpowering desire to get close to them, to capture them on film, to turn them into a product to be displayed. At that point, the passion turns into intrusion.

Wolves already under pressure

This hearing comes at a particularly difficult time for wolves in France, with the entry into force of new ministerial decrees simplifying their killing. No shooting permits are required anymore: a simple declaration is now sufficient. This is a setback that One Voice is fighting in the courts, on the streets and all the way to the Council of State. Calls for poaching have already led to emergency mobilisations to save entire families such as that of Milo and Mina.

Wolves do not need a new threat. They are already under unprecedented political and legal pressure. Allowing the frenzy for images to become an additional danger would be a collective failure. This hearing is an opportunity to remind everyone of that.

On 27 April 2026 at 8.30am, at the Judicial Court in Marseille, three defendants will face charges of deliberately disturbing a protected species. One Voice will be present. Because wolves are already suffering too many violations: shooting, poaching, and European declassification. Their peace is non-negotiable. To defend them on all fronts, sign our petition.

Stop the persecution of wolves!

Alpes-de-Haute-Provence: Shooting wolves? The courts say no

Filming protected wolves puts them in danger. Let’s put an end to the race for footage!

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 !

Rock ptarmigans and Capercaillies: Press release

Rock ptarmigans and Capercaillies: Press release
13.04.2026
France
Rock ptarmigans and Capercaillies: Press release
Wildlife

After years of legal battles led by One Voice in particular, rock ptarmigans and capercaillies are to be removed from the list of huntable species and designated as protected birds. The Ministry for Ecological Transition is due to announce this new decree in the early afternoon.

The government is set to take a major step forward in the protection of mountain galliformes, a group that includes several species of birds living at high altitudes, such as rock ptarmigans and capercaillies. This morning, One Voice learnt from a reliable source that a decree is due to be announced today, which will aim to remove these birds from the list of huntable species and classify them as protected birds.

These texts will be subject to a 21-day public consultation before they can officially come into force.

Iconic birds in critical danger

Capercaillies and rock ptarmigans, emblems of mountain ecosystems, are now in sharp decline.

Capercaillies, who depend on old-growth, undisturbed forests, are seeing their habitat disappear due to logging, human disturbance and climate change. Already extinct in some regions, they now survive only in a few isolated mountain ranges.

Rock ptarmigans, adapted to the extreme conditions of high altitudes, are particularly vulnerable to global warming which directly threatens their habitat. This pressure is exacerbated by the increasing number of visitors to mountain areas and the development of infrastructure. Until recently, hunting placed additional pressure on this fragile species.

Without enhanced protection, these species risk disappearing from our mountains.

A long-running legal campaign led by One Voice

For several years, One Voice, alongside other organisations, has been waging a constant legal battle to put an end to the hunting of these threatened species and other mountain galliformes. This hunting continued to be authorised by the prefectures, limited to a few dozen birds due to the threats affecting galliformes. An absurd situation that has been allowed to persist for far too long in order to satisfy the hunting lobby, allowed to decimate them for their “leisure”.

In a ruling of 1 June 2022, the Council of State ordered the government to suspend the hunting of capercaillies for five years, leading to the adoption of a decree to that effect until 2027.

On 2 March 2026, following a petition by One Voice among others, the Council of State also ordered the suspension of hunting of rock ptarmigans, confirming the need to protect these birds given their conservation status.

These decisions were secured despite the initial refusal by the Ministry for Ecological Transition to implement a moratorium, necessitating repeated legal action to ensure their protection.

For One Voice, the protection of these birds represents a crucial step forward.

“This is a significant victory for the rock ptarmigan and the capercaillie, achieved after years of campaigning. But it will only be complete once these decrees are definitively adopted. We remain fully committed to their cause, as well as to that of four other species of mountain galliformes for which we will continue to take legal action for as long as necessary.” Muriel Arnal, President of One Voice.

Rock ptarmigans and capercaillies: Press release

One Voice welcomes a decisive step forward for their protection in France

Mobilisation for Wikie and Keijo: Press release

Mobilisation for Wikie and Keijo: Press release
10.04.2026
Nice
Mobilisation for Wikie and Keijo: Press release
Exploitation for shows

Government U-turn and betrayal of all commitments! One Voice mobilises tomorrow in Nice for the orcas at Marineland

This Saturday, 11 April, One Voice is organising a symbolic protest in Nice to denounce a decision currently being made behind the scenes: the transfer of Wikie and Keijo to the worst possible place of captivity, in Spain. Pending an official statement, on Tuesday during a hearing, the Minister for Ecological Transition clarified his pro-Loro Parque stance, reneging on his initial position.

One Voice invites the people of Nice to gather tomorrow at the Rauba Capeu headland (opposite the War Memorial) for a protest in support of the two orcas – Wikie and Keijo – and the 12 dolphins still held captive since Marineland closed over a year ago.

From 2.30 pm to 4 pm, this event will take the form of a visual and audio performance centred around a song dedicated to the two orcas. More than just a gathering, it will be a moment of reflection to pay tribute to them and raise public awareness of their plight, with an information stand where people can talk to the association’s representatives.

This event comes at just the right time. On Tuesday 7 April, during a hearing of the Minister for Ecological Transition by the Senate’s Economic Affairs Committee, the Minister Mathieu Lefèvre expressed a stance that reinforces One Voice’s analysis, just days before an official government announcement on the subject.

A non-exhaustive selection from his remarks:

“The pools endanger the orcas’ lives every day. ” This is despite the fact that, a year ago, two independent legal experts wrote that the condition of the pools was good and that work had been carried out in recent months to make them safer.

“These animals are not the property of the French state; they are the property of Marineland.” Whilst Parques Unidos is indeed the “owner” of the orcas, their transfer between countries is nevertheless subject to authorisation and requires permits. It should be recalled that in November 2024, the French government opposed the transfer of the orcas to Japan. And in April 2025, Spain refused the transfer of Wikie and Keijo to Loro Parque, deeming conditions at the dolphinarium in Tenerife to be too poor. Proof that states have a say in the future of wild animals, protected by international regulations.

“There is no such thing as a magical sanctuary.” The option of a sanctuary in Nova Scotia was, however, approved by the Ministry for Ecological Transition last December, announced by the Minister in all the media. Moreover, €3 million has just been injected into this project and work has begun. A sanctuary has just opened in Italy, a country that has put into practice what it preached, taking responsibility for the cetaceans held there. Sanctuaries are not mirages but the only viable alternative to free dolphins and orcas from exploitation in dolphinariums.

Enough of the manoeuvring and lies!

One Voice refuses to let this decision be made behind closed doors and will continue to take action at every level to prevent it: on the streets, outside institutions, and through all necessary legal channels. Public, media and political pressure is now more essential than ever.

Sending Wikie and Keijo to Loro Parque would amount to plunging them into one of the worst cycles of exploitation: forced breeding, abusive conditions of captivity, and the risk of being transferred to Asia to feed an ever-voracious international market.

Beyond their fate, our association is denouncing a major contradiction: how can France ban the captivity and breeding of cetaceans on its territory… whilst knowingly organising their export to facilities where these practices persist? Such a decision would render the 2021 law meaningless and constitute a serious political capitulation.

The closure of Marineland must not serve as a pretext for the worst kind of commodification. Alternatives exist — marine sanctuaries — and these must be seriously pursued.

On 11 April in Nice, One Voice is calling for a strong mobilisation to make a clear demand heard: there is still time to avoid the worst.

Because transferring these animals to another dolphinarium borders on the abject.

Because their fate is not yet sealed.

Right up to the very last moment, One Voice will not give up.

A petition is currently online demanding a dignified outcome for Wikie, Keijo and the dolphins. The organisation is calling on the public to sign it in large numbers in order to influence the political decision and prevent their transfer to dolphinariums abroad.

Mobilisation for Wikie and Keijo: Press release

U-turn by the government and betrayal of all commitments! One Voice mobilises tomorrow in Nice for the orcas at Marineland

9 million animals sacrificed in 2023: the European transition at a standstill

9 million animals sacrificed in 2023: the European transition at a standstill
03.04.2026
Europe
9 million animals sacrificed in 2023: the European transition at a standstill
Animal testing

9,073,608. That is the number of animals killed in experiments across the European Union and Norway in 2023. A decline of barely 3 per cent – in other words, virtually nothing.

At a time when the public is massively calling for an end to these practices, when the European Commission is due to publish its roadmap for phasing them out, and when reliable alternative methods exist and are becoming widespread across the globe, this figure is not progress; it is an admission of failure: the failure of a system that refuses to change.

The 9.1 million animals used in experiments are beings that are confined, genetically modified and made ill to better serve obsolete protocols. Even more worrying is the fact that the tests, though avoidable and already replaced by reliable alternatives established by our partner Cruelty Free International, have increased by 10%.

Practices from a bygone era persist. The particularly cruel ascites method continues to be used to produce antibodies. France is now the last country in Europe to use this method: in 2023, 36,000 mice and guinea pigs were subjected to intense and unjustifiable suffering.

France, Europe’s champion of animal suffering

Unsurprisingly, France remains at the top of the list of European countries with over 2 million animals (2,046,754) used in its laboratories, accounting for a quarter of the European total. For over a decade, nothing has changed, and our country persists in pursuing archaic projects, as evidenced by the plan to invest €80 million of public money to expand the Rousset primatology centre, tripling the number of primates held there from 600 to 1,800. A headlong rush despite scientific doubts and public opposition.

Whilst Norway (1.6 million animals, +12%) and Germany (1.5 million) follow suit, France sets new records of shame, and stands out for the cruelty of the experiments carried out: 191,046 ‘severe’ procedures took place in 2023, accounting for more than a quarter of the European total. In French laboratories, 3,459 primates – 41% of the European total – were subjected to painful and traumatic experiments, even as their numbers fell by 23% overall in other Member States.

Millions of lives exploited, always the same

Invisible, interchangeable, mice are the primary victims of this industry which trivialises suffering, and they pay the heaviest price, with 3,593,561 individuals used in experiments in European and Norwegian laboratories, accounting for 44.5% of the total. In France, rabbits are particularly affected: they account for nearly half of the animals subjected to, in particular, toxicity tests that are long outdated. The ban in 2025 on pyrogenic tests should finally mark a decline in these practices.

Broken promises

Alongside our coalition Cruelty Free Europe, One Voice is sounding the alarm. Far from declining, animal testing could, on the contrary, increase within the European Union. At issue are the ongoing revisions of key texts: the REACH Regulation (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) and the Cosmetics Regulation (Cosmetic Products Regulation – CPR). Behind these technical adjustments lies a worrying shift. The CPR, which is supposed to ban animal testing on cosmetics, has thus already been stripped of its substance. In practice, it is being circumvented. As soon as products fall under REACH, animal testing takes precedence, even if the ingredients are used solely in cosmetic products. Put simply, whilst the ban exists on paper, it is flouted in practice.

This backtracking betrays the commitments made by the European Union as well as the trust and determination of its citizens who are overwhelmingly in favour of science without animal suffering.

In the face of this potential betrayal, One Voice is calling for action around 24 April, International Laboratory Animal Day. National actions will take place around 25 April. Join us.

9 million animals sacrificed in 2023: the European transition at a standstill

In 2023, 9,073,608 animals were used in laboratories across Europe and Norway. The grinding machine continues

Jumbo: Press release

Jumbo: Press release
31.03.2026
France
Jumbo: Press release
Exploitation for shows

One Voice is stunned by the statements made yesterday on X by Mathieu Lefèvre, Minister of State at the Ministry for Ecological Transition, claiming that the health of the hippopotamus Jumbo “is not cause for alarm”.
These remarks, based on veterinary reports commissioned by the administration, are in flagrant contradiction with the evidence we possess and which we have brought to the attention of the authorities.
Inaccurate and opaque administrative reports

The first report, issued by the Lot-et-Garonne prefectural authorities in early February 2026, has never been made public despite our repeated requests, raising legitimate questions about transparency. The second report – this time from the Gironde prefectural authorities later in February, which we were able to consult – raises serious questions regarding its rigour: drawn up following a 90-minute visit, it relies heavily on statements from the owner of the Zavatta circus, without essential on-site checks being carried out.

Numerous crucial points were not examined: no consultation of the medical records nor any assessment of the actual living conditions (temperature, water quality in the container where Jumbo bathes, dimensions of the facilities, etc.). Worse still, certain observations directly contradict the findings made by our own veterinary experts in 2024 and January 2026.

Unfit and dangerous conditions of captivity

Our investigations are unequivocal: Jumbo suffers from severe obesity, significant joint pain and a rapid deterioration of his health. The symptoms observed in early 2026 indicate a significant worsening of his locomotor problems.

Contrary to official claims, Jumbo’s situation is catastrophic. This hippopotamus, a semi-aquatic and gregarious animal that spends up to 16 hours in water and travels dozens of kilometres each night, has been kept alone for nearly 40 years, in conditions incompatible with its fundamental biological needs: lack of sufficient access to a suitable pool, prolonged confinement—sometimes for days on end in a trailer—and exploitation in shows.

Our teams recently observed this during the setting up of the Muller Circus in Lormont (33) in recent weeks. Jumbo was kept locked up for two weeks without access to his “pool”. He is also forced to take part in performances, now even carrying a person on his back, despite his worrying state of health.

Not to mention public safety, given that this animal—listed among Africa’s most dangerous—is separated from visitors at best by flimsy barriers, most often by a simple wire that is not always electrified and is regularly crossed by spectators.

Convictions, and yet impunity

The Muller family, who set up illegal installations wherever they go, are no strangers to legal disputes.

Alexandre Muller has already been convicted on multiple occasions for contempt of court, death threats and violence against public officials, resisting arrest and obstructing traffic. Edmond Muller has been convicted of physical and psychological abuse committed against animal rights activists who were demonstrating peacefully and lawfully.

But above all, both were convicted by the Criminal Court of Valence in 2020 for “unlawful operation of an establishment housing non-domestic animals; placing or keeping an animal in an environment causing suffering; and using an unsuitable method of confinement likely to cause suffering or injury.”

These facts directly concern the living conditions imposed on Jumbo in the circus. The worst part? The seizure of the hippopotamus had been ordered prior to the hearing. It failed in the face of violence from the circus staff. And the State and the Courts gave in, leaving Jumbo in their care even after the conviction.

Let’s put a stop to these outdated practices!

Beyond Jumbo’s case, this situation highlights the persistent abuses linked to the captivity of wild animals in circuses. Even as a ban is announced, no concrete solution is currently guaranteed to ensure the transfer of these animals to suitable facilities.

With the Muller Circus due to arrive in Mérignac in the coming days, One Voice calls on:

the authorities to demonstrate transparency and to commission an independent and comprehensive assessment;

local authorities to refuse to allow circuses that exploit wild animals to set up;

the public to no longer condone these outdated practices.

Jumbo is the symbol of a silent suffering that we can no longer ignore.

Jumbo is not a number. He is not an attraction. If he dies in his trailer after enduring continuous pain so intense it is impossible to describe, those responsible will be held to account. We will secure justice for him. But there is still time to get him out of there. One Voice is calling on the general public to sign its petition.

2,041,157 animals used in experiments in 2024: France seems frozen in inertia

2,041,157 animals used in experiments in 2024: France seems frozen in inertia
27.03.2026
France
2,041,157 animals used in experiments in 2024: France seems frozen in inertia
Animal testing

For more than ten years, the figure of 2 million animals used in experiments in French laboratories has not fallen: it has become the norm. Whilst since 2021 – five years ago now – the European Union has been urging its member states to phase out animal experimentation, France is not slowing down. It is stagnating. And becoming bogged down in a statu quo which increasingly looks like a deliberate choice.

The raw figures seem abstract. They say nothing of the bodies subjected to constraint, the repeated procedures, the sample takings, the confinement, the constant stress. They say nothing of the lives cut short, yet they sum up a reality: every day in France, 3,785 animals are used in laboratories. More than 150 per hour. More than two per minute.

The industrialisation of suffering

One of the most striking developments of 2024 is the explosion of the number of genetically modified animals: over a million, 1,022,805 to be precise. These living beings are thus engineered to develop diseases or exhibit specific characteristics to meet experimental protocols. Put simply: manufactured to be used and then disposed of. If they appear in the statistics today, it is because of a European framework that finally requires the reporting of tail, finger or limb amputations, despite these being classified as ‘minor’ procedures.

The most exploited species

With 1,477,726 individuals, mice remain by far the most commonly used animals. They are also the most affected by severe procedures and genetic modifications (962,602). If they do not die from induced tumours, they are killed at the end of the experiments.
Of the 160,573 rabbits used in experiments in 2024, the overwhelming majority (154,663) were ‘used’ in so-called ‘routine production’ tests, a phrase that trivialises the reality endured, as it refers to animals bred to provide their blood, antibodies or bodily fluids. At the end of these procedures, 99.2% of them were killed. The remaining 1,284 fared no better: reduced to the status of resources, they were reused, shuttled through protocols like products, reused until exhaustion. After 2024, they will no longer be undergoing pyrogenic tests: Europe has banned these after long campaigns by our European coalitions. We will now ensure that this ban is actively enforced in the future.
But these animals are not the only victims of experimentation: our most familiar companions are not spared either. There were 574 cats and 3,342 dogs in the statistics. The vast majority of the latter come from breeding facilities such as those in Gannat and Mézilles, run by the American group Marshall BioResources, because France welcomes these companies with open arms.
In August 2024, 160 cats and 140 dogs were used to ‘train staff’ and teach them how to kill… Meanwhile, there is no ‘waste’: sample taking and injections are on the agenda. The aim? To dehumanise the experimenters as early as possible whilst daring to speak of ‘animal welfare’.

Fewer severe procedures: a smokescreen

At first glance, one indicator might seem encouraging. So-called ‘severe’ procedures are falling (from 191,046 in 2023 to 159,744 in 2024) and the total for ‘severe + moderate’ has dropped below the one-million mark.

But on closer inspection, the picture darkens: so-called “minor” experiments are skyrocketing and exceeded one million in 2024 (1,079,955). Their number has doubled in just a few years, and mice are paying the highest price (821,876).

The explanations put forward to justify these results – a ‘stricter’ framework and ‘increased pressure’ to reduce the number of animals – do not stand up to scrutiny. Reducing the number of animals is not a matter of pressure: it is an obligation enshrined in European policy. It is also a strong expectation among the French public.

Furthermore, One Voice has scrutinised the projects of laboratories conducting animal experiments that same year: around sixty reveal blatant cases of downplaying the suffering. For some laboratories, the stakes are clear: avoiding the ‘severe’ category allows them to reuse the animals and avoids retrospective assessments that could demonstrate the futility of this suffering. It is a logic of budgetary optimisation where pain and death are merely adjustment variables.

France clings to practices that a growing number of countries are abandoning. Today it remains the last country in the European Union to use the method of ascites to produce antibodies, in spite of it being widely criticised for its cruelty, and despite the existence of alternatives. In 2024, 24,090 instances were recorded, of which 24,043 were classified as severe procedures.

Faced with these figures, the authorities can no longer look the other way.

One Voice calls for an end to this absurd logic. Moving away from animal experimentation is not an utopian dream; it is a matter of political will, already underway among our European neighbours. On behalf of the animals victimised by laboratories, sign our petition.

2,041,157 animals used in experiments in 2024: France seems frozen in inertia

In 2024, 2,041,157 animals were used in laboratories in France, a figure almost identical to that of 2023 (2,046,754)

Les espèces les plus exploitées

Avec 1 477 726 individus, les souris restent de loin les animaux les plus utilisés. Elles sont aussi les plus touchées par les procédures sévères et les modifications génétiques (962 602). Si elles ne meurent pas des suites de tumeurs induites, elles sont mises à mort à l’issue des expériences.
Sur les 160 573 lapins expérimentés en 2024, l’écrasante majorité (154 663) a
« servi » à des tests dits de « production de routine » : une formule qui banalise la réalité endurée puisque l’on parle d’animaux élevés pour fournir leur sang, leurs anticorps ou leurs fluides. À l’issue de ces procédures, 99,2% d’entre eux ont été tués. Les 1 284 restants ne furent pas mieux lotis: réduits à l’état de ressources, ils ont été réutilisés, enchaînant les protocoles comme des produits, réutilisés, jusqu’à épuisement. Après 2024, ils ne subiront plus de tests pyrogènes : l’Europe les a interdits après de longs combats de nos coalitions européennes. À présent, nous veillerons à ce que cette interdiction soit activement appliquée à l’avenir.
Mais ces animaux ne sont pas les seules victimes de l’expérimentation: nos compagnons parmi les plus familiers ne sont pas épargnés. Les chats ont été 574 et les chiens, 3 342. Une grande majorité de ces derniers proviennent d’élevages comme ceux de Gannat et Mézilles, gérés par le groupe américain Marshall BioResources, car la France accueille ces entreprises les bras ouverts.
En août 2024, 160 chats et 140 chiens ont servi à « former le personnel » et à l’entraîner à donner la mort… Entre-temps, pas de « gaspillage »: prélèvements et injections sont au programme. L’objectif ? Déshumaniser au plus tôt les expérimentateurs tout en osant parler de « bien-être animal ».

Les procédures sévères en baisse : un écran de fumée

À première vue, un indicateur pourrait sembler encourageant. Les procédures dites « sévères » reculent (de 191 046 en 2023 à 159 744 en 2024) et le total « sévère + modéré » passe sous le seuil du million.
Mais à y regarder de plus près, le constat s’assombrit : les expériences dites « légères » explosent et dépassent le million en 2024 (1 079 955). Leur nombre a doublé en quelques années et les souris en paient le prix fort (821 876).
Les explications avancées pour justifier ces résultats, un cadre « plus exigeant », une « pression accrue » pour réduire le nombre d’animaux, ne résistent pas à l’analyse. Réduire le nombre d’animaux n’a rien d’une pression : il s’agit d’une obligation inscrite dans la stratégie européenne. C’est aussi une attente forte des Français et Françaises.

Par ailleurs, One Voice a passé au crible les projets de laboratoires expérimentant sur les animaux cette même année : une soixantaine révèlent des cas flagrants de minimisation des souffrances. Pour certains laboratoires, l’enjeu est clair : éviter la catégorie « sévère » permet de réutiliser les animaux et évite des bilans rétrospectifs qui pourraient démontrer l’inutilité de ces souffrances.. Une logique d’optimisation budgétaire où la douleur et la mort ne sont que des variables d’ajustement.

La France s’accroche à des pratiques qu’un nombre croissant de pays abandonne. Elle reste aujourd’hui le dernier pays de l’Union européenne à recourir à la méthode de l’ascite pour produire des anticorps, pourtant largement décriée pour sa cruauté malgré l’existence d’alternatives. En 2024, 24 090 utilisations ont été recensées, dont 24 043 classées en procédure sévère.

Face à ces chiffres, les autorités ne peuvent plus détourner le regard.

One Voice appelle à rompre cette logique aberrante. Sortir de l’expérimentation animale n’est pas une utopie, c’est une volonté politique, déjà engagée chez nos voisins européens. Au nom des animaux victimes des laboratoires, signez notre pétition.

In Varennes-Vauzelles, the Nièvre region’s first Chatipi is improving coexistence between humans and cats

In Varennes-Vauzelles, the Nièvre region’s first Chatipi is improving coexistence between humans and cats
12.03.2026
Varennes-Vauzelles
In Varennes-Vauzelles, the Nièvre region’s first Chatipi is improving coexistence between humans and cats
Domestic animals

Located within the grounds of the Pignelin care home in Varennes-Vauzelles near Nevers, the Nièvre region’s first Chatipi will be officially opened on 26 March. This community project has helped resolve tensions caused by stray cats whilst improving their welfare and fostering new bonds with residents.

The opening ceremony will take place on Thursday 26 March at 2pm, attended by Véronique Coureau, chair of the local charity Les P’tits Félins de Pignelin, Morgane Tillier, healthcare manager at the Pignelin care home, Cyrille Cantin, building and electrical manager, Paul Rosette, logistics manager for the Nevers Urban Area Hospital Centre (CHAN), and Mathilde Perrot from the association One Voice.

A community project born out of a conflict situation

A community project born out of a conflict situation

Before the launch of the project, the presence of unneutered cats within the care home grounds had become a source of significant tension: uncontrolled breeding, disturbances in the outdoor areas and animal suffering were fuelling a heated controversy.

Faced with this situation, the care home management had decided to ban the feeding of cats to discourage them from approaching the buildings. Alerted by staff and volunteers concerned about animal welfare, One Voice then contacted the Nevers Urban Area Hospital to propose a practical alternative: the implementation of a Chatipi project.

Chatipi, a practical facility for the protection of cats

Chatipi is an educational project taking the form of a small, specially fitted chalet that provides shelter for cats whilst organising their feeding and health monitoring. Combined with neutering and awareness-raising initiatives around feline straying, it helps stabilise populations and informs the public about the importance of having cats neutered.

As part of this project, One Voice covered the costs of fifteen neutering procedures, microchipping and tests for major feline diseases, as well as the purchase of the chalet, cat flaps, an information board and 30 kilos of dry food.

The Nevers Urban Area Hospital Trust constructed the concrete slab on which the facility stands and will be responsible for the maintenance and any future repairs to the equipment.

The association Les P’tits Félins de Pignelin, set up specifically for this project, assembled and fitted out the chalet. It now feeds the cats, monitors their health, traps them if necessary, buys the food and maintains the chalet. It also covers the long-term veterinary costs for the residents of the Chatipi.

Positive effects for the cats… and for the residents

Since the facility was set up, the situation has changed dramatically. Tensions have eased, and the cats, now neutered and monitored, are in better health and much calmer.

The project has also allowed the residents to enjoy precious moments. One lady comes down every afternoon to feed the cats dry food.She has a special bond with ‘Titi’, the oldest of the group, whom she has known since he was a kitten. Another resident regularly saves a little of his leftovers to share with the cats.

Another resident has knitted a blanket for the cats, thereby regaining some mobility in her hands.

In the long term, therapeutic projects centred on the presence of the animals could also be launched within the care home.

Practical information

The opening of the first Chatipi in the Nièvre region will take place on Thursday 26 March at 2pm, at the Chatipi located within the grounds of the Pignelin care home, 5, route de la Guesse, 58640 Varennes-Vauzelles.

In Varennes-Vauzelles, the Nièvre region’s first Chatipi is improving coexistence between humans and cats

The Nièvre region’s first Chatipi will be inaugurated on 26 March at the Pignelin care home, promoting peaceful coexistence between residents and free-roaming cats.

Hunting: three more deaths and injured walkers

Hunting: three more deaths and injured walkers
19.03.2026
France
Chasse : encore trois morts et des promeneurs blessés
Wildlife

Between 30 November 2025 and 7 March 2026, there were at least two hunting-related incidents every week! Three hunters lost their lives whilst engaging in this cruel and deadly pastime, and two joggers were hit by stray bullets. Every season, the same arguments are put forward: hunting is a tradition, a rural pastime, a regulated activity. Yet the facts tell a very different story. One Voice is fighting for radical reform of this practice, which adds numerous collateral victims to the 45 million animals killed each year.

Between late November 2025 and early March 2026, accidents multiplied in France, serving as a reminder that hunting is not only dangerous for the animals it targets, but also for humans who do not take part in it.

Two joggers injured by stray bullets

On 30 November 2025, in Plémet (Côtes-d’Armor), a bullet fired during a drive hunt passed through the window of a house and came to rest in a built-in oven. A tragedy was narrowly averted: the kitchen was empty at the time of impact.

A few weeks later, the danger struck a walker directly. In Vaison-la-Romaine, a 25-year-old jogger was seriously injured by a hunter who claimed to have mistaken him for wild boar. The bullet shattered his knee, leaving him with permanent disability.

Unfortunately, such incidents are far from rare. Hunting accidents occur every year and affect people who have absolutely no connection to the pursuit.

In forests, on public paths, and even at home, anyone can find themselves in the line of fire. In Bormes-les-Mimosas, two mushroom pickers found themselves caught in the middle of a driven hunt and had to throw themselves to the ground and cry out to avoid being targeted.

In the Jura region, a jogger was shot in the foot. On a road in the Aisne region, a wedding procession was halted by a hound hunt, with shots ringing out just a few metres from the guests.

Three hunters victims of their own practices; animals hunted and killed

Whilst the violence of hunting affects humans, dogs also pay a heavy price. Wild boar drives regularly result in animals being seriously injured or killed. In the Landes region, eight dogs were injured during a hunt. In the Vendée region, two died and five others were maimed.

Not to mention our pets, all too often caught in the trap of these armed hunts: in the Haute-Saône region, a cat at a château was killed by hunting dogs that had entered private property.

And the wildlife is subjected to scenes of a brutality rarely shown. In February 2026, a stag chased by dogs ended up on a motorway (with all the risks that entails for motorists) after being bitten on the legs, before being shot dead.

A deadly season

During the 2024/2025 season, the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) recorded 11 fatal accidents involving hunters, compared with six in the two previous seasons. The winter of 2025–2026 was marked by a series of incidents: accidental shots to the hands or legs, ricocheting bullets, falls from hunting hides, and hunters injured by their own weapons. In the Somme, a man was shot dead during a driven hunt, whilst another was seriously injured on the same day.

In the Eure region, a hunter died after tripping over barbed wire whilst carrying a loaded rifle. In the Charente region, another drowned after falling into a river. These tragedies come on top of the numerous incidents already recorded at the start of the season, and these numbers are based solely on our press review: it is likely that many other accidents have gone unrecorded.

Hunting: a risk to everyone

These events are not isolated accidents. They are the logical consequence of a system that permits the use of firearms in public spaces frequented by everyone: paths, forests, roads and inhabited countryside.

The question is therefore no longer whether such tragedies can happen, but how much longer our society will accept that an armed leisure activity poses such a risk to the public and inflicts such violence on animals.

Join our campaign and sign our petition for a radical reform of hunting!

Hunting: three more deaths and injured walkers

41 accidents in three months, 3 deaths. Walkers and joggers remain the collateral victims of hunting.

Trial of a member of the hunting community in the Var region: Press Release

Trial of a member of the hunting community in the Var region: Press Release
18.03.2026
Gap
Trial of a member of the hunting community in the Var region: Press Release
Domestic animals

Poaching, death of a husky, illegal weapons…
One Voice will be present in Gap on 19 March for the trial of a member of the
Vars hunting society
Last December, a man who is a member of the Vars hunting society was taken
into custody for offences related to his hunting activities: undeclared weapons,
the remains of animals killed illegally, and the shooting of a husky named
Aramis. One Voice has joined the proceedings as a civil party in this case
which has been documented by the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB). We
will be present at the Magistrates’ Court in Gap on 19 March 2026 at 1.30 pm to
demand a verdict commensurate with the violence inflicted.

The case came to light during an investigation initially focusing on aggravated assault
committed between December 2023 and December 2025 by a member of the Vars
hunting society. But as investigators delved deeper into their inquiry, the list of
offences lengthened…
Animal remains kept as trophies
The defendant poached chamois and roe deer outside the hunting season or in
breach of established hunting plans. Searches led to the seizure of undeclared
weapons and a pick-up truck believed to have been used for poaching trips. The
investigations also uncovered a significant quantity of animal remains: preserved
chamois and deer heads, and chamois legs. All remains that should have been sent
for rendering.
Poaching is not a mistake, but a decision: the decision to shoot without regard for
seasons, quotas or the fragile balance of natural habitats. The decision to kill without
restraint.
Aramis, a dog treated as a target
Even more seriously: during one of these illegal outings, the suspect is alleged to
have shot a husky dog who was wearing a harness and answered to the name of
Aramis.
Violence linked to hunting does not stop at animals classified as ‘game’. It spills over.
It also affects walkers’ dogs, stray dogs and cats. Cows, donkeys, horses. Hunting
dogs themselves are not spared. All too often, they are treated as mere tools:
neglected, abandoned, kept in appalling conditions. One Voice has documented this
on numerous occasions: in the Ain, in Lot-et-Garonne and elsewhere. Aramis joins

this endless list. He serves as a reminder that, in the world of hunting, dogs too pay a
heavy price.
On 19 March 2026, animals will have voices to defend them
This case will be heard on 19 March 2026 at 1.30 pm before the Magistrates’ Court in
Gap. One Voice will be there. Because poaching is not just a minor offence: it is the
very negation of wildlife. It is deciding, alone, when an animal must die, without any
framework or limit.
Our organisation had already taken action during the hearing of the poachers in the
Cher region. Today, the same question remains: how many more animals must fall
before we admit that this violence is not marginal but indicative of a system in need of
a thorough overhaul?
Poaching and the shooting of dogs or other domestic animals are not isolated
incidents. They call for a radical reform of hunting. One Voice is calling on the general
public to sign its petition.
Trial of a member of the hunting community in the Var region: Press Release
Poaching, death of a husky, illegal weapons. One Voice will be present on 19 March
for the trial of a member of the Vars hunting society