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Feline straying: challenge your candidates!

Feline straying: challenge your candidates!

Feline straying: challenge your candidates!
25.02.2026
France
Feline straying: challenge your candidates!
Domestic animals

In France, nearly 11 million homeless cats survive as best they can in the dark cornersof our towns and villages. Cold, hunger, disease, malice: their daily life is a constant struggle against these evils. Yet this misery is not inevitable: solutions exist. What is needed is the political will to implement them.

What the law says

The management of stray cats is the responsibility of mayors. Your future elected representatives have the power and the duty to act! Municipal elections are a decisive moment.

A charter to be signed to challenge your candidates:

You can demand concrete commitments to a sustainable and ethical policy and thus in the fight against feline straying. One Voice has prepared a charter explaining the issues and detailing the measures to be taken by municipalities for real action against feline straying. Between now and the mid-March elections, ask your candidates to sign the charter, and send us the signatures you collect!

A clear commitment in five measures:

1. Set up or actively support sterilisation campaigns, in conjunction with local associations and veterinarians.
2. Create and maintain living spaces for sterilised cats that have been released and left free, in particular through appropriate measures such as Chatipi.
3. Conduct awareness-raising campaigns among the population, as feline straying is the result of abandonment and lack of sterilisation.
4. Deploy educational tools to teach children from an early age the values of
responsibility, respect for animals and harmonious cohabitation.
5. Support the mandatory neutering of all cats from 6 months of age at national
level, with penalties for non-compliance (except for cats registered in the Official Cat Breed Registry and without outdoor access) in order to tackle the root of the problem.

Chatipi: more than a shelter, a place to live

For years, One Voice has been working to combat feline straying and supporting local authorities willing to take action. Pending a national emergency plan, the Chatipi scheme creates spaces for sterilised stray cats: safe places where they can be protected, fed and receive health care, while raising public awareness of their plight. More than sixty partnerships already exist throughout France.

Saturday 14 March 2026: a national mobilisation

To alert and raise awareness about feline straying, One Voice is organising a coordinated
campaign in several cities across France on Saturday 14 March 2026.

Cats without families dont it have a vote. But you do!

Send the charter of commitment to your candidates! No, the street is not freedom. Contrary to popular belief, the life of a stray cat is neither free nor happy. It is precarious, violent and often short. To do nothing is to condone suffering.

Download our educational tools. Take part in the national campaign. Discover our Chatipis

Feline straying: challenge your candidates!

Solutions exist to combat feline straying,

Envoyez la charte d’engagement à vos candidat.e.s !

Non, la rue n’est pas la liberté. Contrairement aux idées reçues, la vie d’un chat errant n’est ni libre ni heureuse. Elle est précaire, violente et souvent brève. Laisser faire, c’est cautionner la souffrance. Téléchargez nos outils pédagogiques Participez à l’action nationale Découvrez nos Chatipis

Pouring public money into illegal circuses. How far will the State go to protect these offenders?

Pouring public money into illegal circuses. How far will the State go to protect these offenders?

Pouring public money into illegal circuses. How far will the State go to protect these offenders?
24.02.2026
France
Pouring public money into illegal circuses. How far will the State go to protect these offenders?
Exploitation for shows

In May 2025, the Ministry for Ecological Transition unveiled a financial support plan for travelling circuses. One Voice immediately denounced the abandonment of animals, left in the hands of their torturers with no hope of joining a sanctuary. In recent weeks,
this project took further shape when the Service and Payment Agency presented the financial aid planned for circuses. One Voice has contacted this State operator to request that establishments condemned by the courts or not complying with the law should not receive any public funding.

Animals being illegally detained or subjected to despicable trafficking, illicit breeding and births, mistreatment, fraud… Many circuses flout the law in order to make ever more profit from those they drag around from town to town. And now, at the request of the State, taxpayers are expected to pay these same criminals handsomely… so that they may continue to abuse animals in sedentary establishments?

Endless violence

While we have always fought against the endless suffering of captive animals, the legalnsystem is also beginning to recognise the facts. In November 2022, trainer Mario Masson was found guilty, among other offences, of mistreating ten tigers locked up 24 hours a day in acage truck. We had rescued them from this abominable fate two years earlier. And he is far from being the only circus owner from whose clutches we have rescued mistreated animals. Steve Gougeon was convicted of mistreating the lion Jon and the lionesses Céleste, Patty, Hannah and Marli and for keeping lions without identifying them. A few weeks before the court is decision, the director of the Cirque de Paris had left two llamas,two camels, two horses and two cows abandoned in a field in the middle of winter for nearly three months…
Whether for mistreatment or illegal exploitation, the circus operators of the Cirque William Zavatta, the Nouveau Cirque Triomphe and the Cirque de Rome were also found guilty bythe courts.

Illegal births

One might think that the trainers would stop there in their indecency. This is not the case. Although reproduction has been banned in travelling establishments since 1 December 2023, many have largely ignored the 2021 law against animal abuse.
Tiger cubs continued to be born at Cirque Boletti, Cirque Europa, Cirque Franco-Belge, Cirque Muller-Zavatta, and others. In the Tarn region, at the establishment ‘Au cœur des félins’, three babies were born as recently as 30 June, prompting us to report the matter to the authorities. And what about the Cirque Claudio Zavatta, which we investigated, documenting the birth of nine lion cubs in the summer of 2024, after it cowardly abandoned nine adult lions who were old or in poor health?

An elephant brutally ‘disappeared’

After more than three decades of exploitation, trainer Max Aucante took advantage of the government is inaction to sell Samba to a sedentary Hungarian circus, without anyone noticing. This meant there was no need to comply with the law or to place her in a sanctuary,
even though we had been offering for years to take care of her transfer to a dignified retirement home. And that is not all. To get rid of the elephant, the trainer did not submit any of the mandatory authorisation requests to CITES or the veterinary services.

We have lodgeda request, and an investigation is underway. We have written to the Service and Payment Agency to inform them of these multiple convictions. We call on them not to grant aid to circus operators responsible for mistreatment and illegal exploitation. These offences, like the immense suffering of the animals, should not be rewarded with public money or encouraged to continue. To take further action, sign our petition to end the exploitation of animals in circuses. Pouring public money into illegal circuses. How far will the State go to protect these offenders?

One Voice writes to the Service and Payment Agency to oppose State

Government announcements on wolf culling: an ethical, ecological and political scandal

Government announcements on wolf culling: an ethical, ecological and political scandal

Government announcements on wolf culling: an ethical, ecological and political scandal
20.02.2026
Haute Marne
Government announcements on wolf culling: an ethical, ecological and political scandal
Wildlife

During a visit to Haute-Marne earlier this week, ministers Annie Genevard and Mathieu Lefèvre announced future measures for the ‘management’ of wolves. Behind this administrative language lies a clear political agenda: to kill more and more wolves.
Every announcement, every decision, every decree sounds like a death sentence for these animals who are simply trying to live. This is a historic step backwards, and we will continue to fight it.

An increase in the number of wolves to be killed each year, the abandonment of herd protection in favour of lethal shooting… Behind these choices are lives, packs and families. Wolves are not ‘pests’: they are sentient beings, with deep social bonds, who have roamed
our forests and mountains for millennia. Far from promoting coexistence, the government is choosing violence in the name of a false solution that sacrifices animal life on the altar of convenience and profit for a certain farming community.

A conscious political choice: shooting rather than protecting

This is not a policy aimed at safeguarding a protected species: it is a licence to kill, an unacceptable moral and ecological step backwards, under the guise of social peace. Today’s wolves bear the weight of their past: a century ago, they were exterminated in France. Now, history is repeating itself in a more insidious form: first, stop protecting herds, then increase the number of shootings, normalise the practice and, tomorrow, make wolves huntable. This scenario is not exaggerated. When protection weakens year after year, extermination becomes a possibility once again.
Coexistence is possible. It simply requires intelligence, courage and responsibility: mandatory protection of livestock, fully funded by the state, and technical guidance for farmers. More killing will not solve anything. Giving in to short-term pressure is not a solution. What is at stake today goes beyond the issue of wolves: it is about our collective ability to defend biodiversity in the face of the choice to destroy again and again. We cannot accept such a setback for animals. For the wolves, our fight continues: we will challenge these decrees in court.

Stop the persecution of wolves!

Government announcements on wolf culling: an ethical, ecological and political scandal

The government is facilitating the shooting of wolves and jeopardising their

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 !

A lion cub exploited in a video clip: appeal hearing on 17 February in Paris

A lion cub exploited in a video clip: appeal hearing on 17 February in Paris

A lion cub exploited in a video clip: appeal hearing on 17 February in Paris
16.02.2026
France
A lion cub exploited in a video clip: appeal hearing on 17 February in Paris
Exploitation for shows

In 2017, this very young lion was taken from his mother, who was being held captive in a circus, to be sold and exploited in a video clip. Reported to the authorities by a whistleblower, he was found to be very weak and showing signs of beatings. On 17 February at 9am, the Court of Appeal in Paris will examine this case which was tried in the first instance in 2022. One Voice will be present in court to defend this little feline, denounce trafficking linked to circuses, and remind everyone that these illegal practices continue to break individuals, far from the public eye.

Crédit photo : © Pompiers de Paris.

The events date back to 2017. Thanks to images posted on social media, the authorities discovered that a young feline was being held in an apartment in Seine-Saint-Denis. Presented as a ‘little tiger’, it was in fact a lion cub. Purchased for a video clip from circus performers based in Normandy, then transported by car to Seine-Saint-Denis, it found itself locked up in an apartment in Noisy-le-Sec.

A stolen childhood

At this age, a lion cub should be suckling its mother and beginning to learn about life. But, confined to the back of a circus trailer, separated from his family too soon, the cub was immediately subjected to greed and exploitation. When police officers found him in Noisy-le-Sec, he was suffering from multiple conditions – dehydration, parasites, nutritional deficiencies – and had a broken tooth and wounds on his nose and skull. Seized in extremis, he was taken into care at a shelter.

The man being prosecuted admitted to having looked for a lion cub for the filming of a video clip. He admitted to having brought him from a circus and keeping him in an apartment, then, on the day of his arrest, claimed that he no longer had him in his possession. How can such acts be justified and how can one claim to be caring for an animal that was purchased illegally and then transported from one flat to another in order to hide it from the authorities? His lies did not last long: the young animal was found the same day, weak, injured and traumatised in the flat.

Circus performers willing to do anything

This case is not an isolated one. The networks involving circuses feed other markets, particularly those of taxidermists, where animals, whether alive or dead, are nothing more than commodities.

In 2018, the young lioness Cersei was seized by customs after passing through the same networks. These cases are part of the activities that we have been denouncing for years, particularly trafficking and mistreatment.

On 17 February at 9am, the Court of Appeal in Paris will once again examine this case. We will be present in court to defend this lion cub and to remind everyone that animals are individuals in their own right. Take action with us, sign and share our petition so that circus animals finally have a voice.

Update 17.02.2026

The verdict will be handed down on 24 March.

A lion cub exploited in a music video: appeal hearing on 17 February in Paris

Sold by a circus, mistreated and locked up in an apartment, a lion cub will be at the centre of an appeal hearing on 17 February.

Cantal: a wolf shot dead, the State falling short. We demand justice!

Cantal: a wolf shot dead, the State falling short. We demand justice!

Cantal: a wolf shot dead, the State falling short. We demand justice!
13.02.2026
cantal
Cantal: a wolf shot dead, the State falling short. We demand justice!
Wildlife

On 4 February, a wolf was illegally shot dead in Cantal. The shooter claims there was ‘confusion’ with a fox. And already in the press, it is announced that the case could end with a simple reminder of the law. We refuse to accept this trivialisation. We are lodging a request so that the death of this wolf does not go unnoticed and so that the law ceases to be an empty promise.

The fable of a ‘mistake’

According to statements reported by the newspaper La Montagne, the hunter believed he was targeting a fox before discovering that it was a wolf. This justification raises serious concerns. The difference in size, morphology and appearance is obvious…
Certain identification is a basic and non-negotiable principle of hunting. Shooting without certainty is, at the very least, gross negligence… and a very worrying fact for the safety of humans as well.
Claiming ‘mistake’ is not enough to erase the facts. A protected animal was killed. Its death is very real. Behind the word ‘confusion’ lies an irreversible shooting and a sentient being who, once again, pays the price for laxity.

A protected species… really?

Unlike foxes, wolves are protected under French and European law because they were eradicated in the past. Killing them is prohibited in principle, except in regulated cases. On paper, the legal framework is clear.
However, today we are talking about a simple reminder of the law for an act that amounts to poaching. This perspective sends a disastrous signal. Can we seriously claim that a species is protected if the illegal killing of an individual results in such a lenient measure?
Every wolf counts. To trivialise the death of this wolf is to foster a sense of impunity and to undermine the credibility of the rule of law in environmental matters.
Faced with this situation, we refuse to remain silent and are lodging a request. The law must be enforced seriously, especially when it comes to protecting living beings. We demand that the circumstances surrounding this shooting be fully investigated and that appropriate legal action be taken.
The credibility of nature conservation policies is at stake. So is the respect due to a species that has simply reclaimed part of its natural territory.
Join us in demanding an end to these massacres by signing our petition.
Stop the persecution of wolves!

Cantal: a wolf shot dead, the State falling short. We demand justice!

A wolf killed ‘by mistake’ in Cantal: One Voice lodges a request and demands justice.

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Primatology Centre in Rousset: Europe questions France on primates bred for its laboratories

Primatology Centre in Rousset: Europe questions France on primates bred for its laboratories

Primatology Centre in Rousset: Europe questions France on primates bred for its laboratories
12.02.2026
Rousset, Bouches-du-Rhône Agrandissement de Rousset : le doute gagne les scientifiques !
Animal testing

Long kept under wraps, the project to expand the primatology centre in Rousset has now been revealed. At a time when technological advances, particularly thanks to AI, are leaping forward, the use of our closest cousins in laboratories is giving rise to growing controversy, even beyond our borders. And faced with this outdated French stance, the campaign is changing scale. A group of MEPs is challenging the French authorities and sharing its concerns about this project.

Dated 20 January, the letter from a group of MEPs addressed to the Minister of Higher Education and the CNRS’ Ethics Committee states unequivocally:

An initiative that is clearly out of step with scientific progress, the current and future priorities of European research, and the expectations clearly expressed by civil society

(excerpt from the letter dated 20 January 2026)

Between opposition and ‘deep concern,’ the elected officials clearly question the CNRS’ desire to expand the primatology centre in Rousset in the Bouches-du-Rhône region. This project, which we have been denouncing since the summer of 2024, was developed in complete secrecy. It plans to exploit up to 1,800 primates – compared to 600 at present – and to supply 40% of European research.

Through investigations, petitions and demonstrations, our campaign has broken the silence, and now the voices of these caged primates are being heard within European institutions. Europe refuses to condone the exploitation of macaques, baboons and marmosets, social, empathetic and intelligent beings condemned to years of isolation, torture, hardship and manipulation.

A fight for transparency

Beyond the fate that awaits these animals, the MEPs also denounce the laboratories’ serious lack of transparency. This is a culture of silence that we have been fighting for a long time. In November 2025, faced with the repeated refusal of the CNRS and the University of Aix-Marseille to provide us with public documents detailing their experiments since 2023, we won our case in the Administrative Court of Marseille. This failure was also highlighted by the guarantor of the National Commission for Public Debate (CNDP) in their assessment of the consultation process.

Citizens are also saying no outside France

This public consultation delivered a clear verdict: 93% of the opinions submitted were against the project. Better still, the contributions overwhelmingly raised ethical issues related to animal rights. Opposition to primate experiments is also affecting Germany. A petition launched by one of our partners, Doctors Against Animal Experiments, has already gathered more than 40,000 signatures, paving the way for a public hearing. Here too, society is refusing to look the other way.

The future of primates in laboratories: a political choice

The Rousset case is revealing. It forces decision-makers to face up to their responsibilities given that the expansion of the site is not a scientific necessity, it is a political choice that places France at odds with forward-looking research. If the project is faltering today, it is thanks to our constant mobilisation. The debate is now public. The CNRS must respond to the report of the consultation guarantor by 16 February.

Primates are neither tools nor commodities. Join us in demanding a halt to the expansion of the Rousset facility by signing our petition. The fight continues.

Primatology Centre in Rousset: Europe questions France on primates bred for its laboratories

Following our campaign, the desire to expand this breeding facility which supplies laboratories has caused outrage even among members of the European Parliament.

 

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.