News Archive - One voice

Primate breeding project for laboratories in Rousset: make your voice heard

Primate breeding project for laboratories in Rousset: make your voice heard
16.10.2025
Rousset, Bouches-du-Rhône Primate breeding project for laboratories in Rousset: make your voice heard
Animal testing

The CNRS keeps monkeys in Rousset (13) for animal testing and is looking to expand. It wants to transform this site into a lucrative commercial enterprise with public money (€30 million) by becoming a breeding facility, increasing its numbers from 600 to 1,700 primates, mainly long-tailed macaques, which are endangered. These animals will be sold to laboratories. What awaits them: isolation, trepanation, thirst deprivation… for years on end. A month-long public consultation has been launched. One Voice shows you how to take action alongside them for the primates.

Total nonsense, the opposite of innovation
In this age of artificial intelligence, we are being led to believe that inflicting unimaginable suffering on intelligent, social animals is the way forward. Profit is their only goal.
A worrying lack of transparency
The project’s leads are withholding all relevant information about the current center and the breeding facility they want to create.
Impacts to be taken seriously:
Impacts of the work on local biodiversity (clearing of the area, etc.) and a threefold increase in biological waste to be disposed of and managed.
Health risks
Risks of disease transmission (tuberculosis, which animals imported from abroad sometimes carry) and risks associated with possible escapes.

ONE VOICE calls for:

– the abandonment of the project to expand the Rousset primatology station;

– the transfer of funds allocated to this program to research into alternative methods to animal experimentation.

How can you help us?

1- ATTEND PUBLIC MEETINGS:

If you live near Rousset, Aix-en-Provence, or Marseille, come and attend one of the public meetings and ask your questions (registration required):

October 16, Faculty of Sciences, Aix-en-Provence

October 25, CNRS, Marseille

November 5, Rousset multipurpose room

November 13, Faculty of Sciences, Aix-en-Provence

For details about the meetings and registration, visit the consultation website.

2- GIVE YOUR OPINION AND ASK YOUR QUESTIONS ON THE ONLINE PLATFORM:

Access will be open on October 16. You will be able to ask your questions and give your opinion on this project in the top menu “I participate”.

Consultation website: https://cnrs-concertation-cnp.fr/

3- TAKE ACTION WITH US IN THE FIELD

Do you live in Rousset or the surrounding area and want to take action in the field? Contact us at militants@one-voice.fr

4- MAKE A DONATION

Donating is also a way of taking action together. By donating, you contribute to the continuation of One Voice’s work and help us remain independent.

One Voice exists solely thanks to your donations, so we need you!

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Expansion of the Rousset primatology station: faced with the CNRS’s opacity, One Voice takes action

Expansion of the Rousset primatology station: faced with the CNRS’s opacity, One Voice takes action
14.10.2025
Rousset, Bouches-du-Rhône Expansion of the Rousset primatology station: faced with the CNRS’s opacity, One Voice takes action
Animal testing

Since the summer of 2024, One Voice has been alerting the public to the CNRS’s plan to transform the current primatology station in Rousset into a national primatology center, tripling the number of monkeys bred on the site and selling them to laboratories. This move runs counter to European commitments to reduce the number of animals used by laboratories… and the CNRS remains worryingly opaque about it despite our legitimate requests for documents. We are taking legal action to shed light on this breeding program and call on animal rights activists and advocates of new technologies to participate in the preliminary consultation and public meetings to express their opposition.

2,000. This is the number of monkeys that the CNRS wants to breed at the future National Primatology Center in Rousset. Thanks to no less than €30 million in public funding, long-tailed macaques, classified as an “endangered” species, rhesus macaques, and many others will then undergo all kinds of experiments in France… or elsewhere in Europe. Experimenters profit considerably from this suffering, as each primate can be sold for up to €30,000. Faced with such a lucrative business, their lives are sacrificed without hesitation…

A cynical project… that refuses any transparency

For months, One Voice has been met with a wall of silence. Documents relating to the Rousset primatology station, which should be freely accessible to the public, are still being withheld from us. However, our requests, submitted last January, received a favorable opinion from the Commission for Access to Administrative Documents (CADA). Despite this decision, the CNRS continues to refuse to provide us with the information to which we are entitled.

Why is there so much secrecy surrounding this publicly funded project? What are they trying to hide? Is it to prevent us from revealing what goes on in the laboratories to which the breeding facility sells its primates?

Among them was Fenouil, a marmoset who spent several years in Rousset and died in 2022 after numerous experiments. As if that weren’t enough, he was also exploited for breeding. He had eight offspring, including Nuphar, Narcisse, and Navet, born in 2017.

Nuphar died the same year as his father in the same experiment devoted to the study of oculomotor and social behavior. A few days before their deaths, they both underwent intracerebral injections.

Narcisse and Navet died in 2020 after being used in experiments under the same protocol.

These family destinies illustrate the scourge of captive breeding for animal experimentation, where several generations of animals undergo the same procedures and unspeakable suffering, one after the other.

We are calling for the abandonment of the project to expand the Rousset Primatology Station and for the funds allocated to this program to be transferred to the financing of alternative methods to animal experimentation.

You too can speak out for these tortured monkeys by sharing our publications and participating in the following public meetings:

October 16 and November 13 at the Faculty of Sciences in Aix-en-Provence;
October 25 at the CNRS in Marseille;
November 4 for a visit to the Rousset Primatology Station;
and finally November 5 in Rousset.

Starting October 16, participate in large numbers in the preliminary public consultation. Let’s demand an end to the use of primates in laboratories!

Illegal fishing of bluefin tuna: the offenders convicted in Narbonne

Illegal fishing of bluefin tuna: the offenders convicted in Narbonne
03.10.2025
Narbonne, Aude
Illegal fishing of bluefin tuna: the offenders convicted in Narbonne
Wildlife

In Narbonne, the Narbonne Big-game Fishing Association (ANPG) and the French Sea Fishing Federation (FFPM) cast their nets and illegally fished a large number of bluefin tuna. The court has handed down exemplary sentences for the illegal killing of thousands of fish and their equally illegal resale. A further hearing is scheduled for 9 December at 2 p.m. at the Court in Narbonne to determine the damages suffered by the victims. With this initial success, One Voice continues its fight to protect the inhabitants of the oceans.

An inaudible suffering: stop the massacre of bluefin tuna

Between 2017 and 2020, a proper system of organised fraud was devised by the Narbonne Big-game Fishing Association and the French Sea Fishing Federation. Following an investigation by the French Office for Biodiversity, the results are clear and the offences numerous: failure to declare catches, illegal sales of tuna, cutting up before measurement and weighing, tampering with identification tags, etc.

In reality, the quotas set by annual decree were not respected. Ingenious schemes were secretly devised to allow unlimited fishing and resale, even though the species is threatened with extinction. And yet the defendants refuse to acknowledge their responsibility. The hearing highlighted their disconcerting lack of awareness of the consequences of their actions.

Penalties for illegal fishing: stop repeat offences

The Court in Narbonne handed down severe sentences commensurate with the offences committed. The licences of these clandestine fishermen have now been suspended or completely withdrawn for a period of one year. The sentence will be published in the local press to highlight the seriousness of such behaviour. For twelve months, bluefin tuna will be safe from their nets.

Individuals face fines of up to €15,000, of which €7,000 suspended. A new hearing is scheduled for 9 December at 2 p.m. at the Court in Narbonne to rule on the damages suffered by the victims.

This decision marks a first victory against these sea poachers. We are intensifying our efforts to protect all fish present in the vicinity of these areas. Whatever the issues at stake –experimentation, existing fish farms, future intensive farming or the destruction of their habitat – the fight has only just begun!

Mountain galliformes: in 2025, a first victory, and hearings to come!

Mountain galliformes: in 2025, a first victory, and hearings to come!
02.10.2025
Alpes, Pyrénées, France
Mountain galliformes: in 2025, a first victory, and hearings to come!
Wildlife

In 2025, mountain galliformes are once again being targeted in the Alps and the Pyrenees. Despite the alarming state of their populations, prefects persist in wanting to place these birds, who only aspire to live in peace, before the hunters’ guns. Since 2021, One Voice has been stepping up its efforts to put an end to this archaic practice. On 22 September 2025, the Administrative Court of Appeal in Marseille ruled in our favour in a landmark decision. This sends a clear message to the prefects, that we will take to court again this year to obtain an emergency suspension of the shootings. The first hearings will be held on 7 October 2025 at 10:00 a.m. at the Administrative Court in Marseille for the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region, on 14 October at 10:00 a.m. at the Administrative Court in Grenoble for the Savoie and Haute-Savoie regions and for black grouse and rock partridges in the Isère region, and on 15 October at 9 a.m. for hazel grouse in the Isère region.

Hunted… to the last?

Adapted to extreme conditions, galliformes are animals that are emblematic of our mountain peaks. From black grouse to rock partridges and hazel grouse, these discreet birds are bearing the brunt of climate change, human disturbance and the increasing scarcity of their habitat. As if that weren’t enough, every year when autumn arrives, hunters take out their guns and proceed to methodically kill them.

From the Alps to the Pyrenees, prefects continue to authorise their killing by the hundreds, even thousands. We do not and never will accept that a small, ultra-minority group may appropriate nature and arrogate to itself the right of life and death over all animals that wish to live there in peace.

In 2025, already a major victory

In 2023 and 2024, our actions saved thousands of individuals. Victories are multiplying, and yet the message does not seem to be getting through to the authorities. In the Savoie region, the prefect is planning to cull up to 617 rock partridges this year, based on reproduction rates. When will we stop giving hunters these undeserved privileges?

On 22 September 2025, the Administrative Court of Appeal in Marseille once again ruled in our favour in a landmark decision, once more dismissing the hunters’ arguments. No, birds on the brink of extinction cannot be killed for pleasure! Once again, we will be taking this message to the courts in the coming weeks.

Faced with the hunters’ underhand strategies, hearings to come

This year, hunters are not hesitating to use underhand strategies. In the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Hautes-Alpes and Alpes-Maritimes regions, the presidents of the regional federations have simply chosen not to publish the decisions by which they allocate hunting quotas in their regions. This is an obvious strategy to prevent us from taking action, but it will not stop us.

The first hearings will be held on 7 October 2025 at 10:00 a.m. for the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence at the Administrative Court in Marseille, on 14 October 2025 at 10:00 a.m. for Savoie, at 10:15 a.m. for Haute-Savoie and then at 11:00 a.m. for Isère (black grouse and rock partridge), and on 15 October at 9:00 a.m. for hazel grouse in Isère, at the Administrative Court in Grenoble. In the meantime, sign our petition to demand a clear and definitive ban on hunting species with a poor conservation status.

Samba betrayed: France’s last circus elephant sent to Hungary, to a new prison

Samba betrayed: France’s last circus elephant sent to Hungary, to a new prison
01.10.2025
Hongrie
Samba betrayed: France’s last circus elephant sent to Hungary, to a new prison
Exploitation for shows

While France has voted to end the presence of wild animals in circuses by 2028, Samba, an elephant captured in Kenya and exploited for nearly forty years, has just been sent to Hungary to a so-called “Safari Park” that is nothing more than a circus. This transfer is scandalous, given that we have been offering for years to take Samba into our care and allow her to join a sanctuary. It is a betrayal and an unbearable insult to the animal cause.

We are angry. Deeply outraged. Samba, the last elephant held in a French circus, has just been transferred… not to a sanctuary, but to a Hungarian circus disguised as a “safari park”, the Richter Safari Park. A place that barely hides its activities of car rides among stressed animals, training shows, and forced interactions with the public.

After more than twenty years of campaigning, dozens of complaints filed, and a political commitment to end the use of wild animals in circuses by 2028, how is it possible that the authorities have not noticed anything?

A life stolen since childhood

Born free in Kenya thirty-seven years ago, Samba was captured when she was still a baby. Torn from her family and forcibly taken to a new continent, she ended up at the Continental Circus run by the Aucante family in France. There, for more than three decades, she was chained, trained, exploited, and abused.

We first crossed paths with her in 2002. During “shows”, Samba was forced to simulate her own death to the sound of gunshots. In 2003, she sent her first public distress signal: she refused to perform this “act”. She was then beaten by her trainer in front of children. He only stopped after their pleas. This event was the first trigger in a long series of complaints that One Voice filed on Samba’s behalf. More than a dozen. The last ones date from last year, when we managed to track her down.

One Voice’s campaign to raise awareness of Samba’s suffering gained so much momentum that the Continental Circus changed its name to Cirque d’Europe and renamed Samba “Tania” to cover its tracks and try to hide the tragic truth.

In 2013, in yet another display of distress, Samba escaped when her tormentor forgot to chain her up as he usually did. In her desperate flight, she collided with a man who tragically died. But what did the government do? Nothing. It didn’t say a word about her suffering. Not a single gesture in favor of her rehabilitation. On the contrary: Samba was brought back to the circus. Her trainer was even acquitted.

The state refused our sanctuary proposal

Over the years, we saw her condition deteriorate but never gave up. A place in a sanctuary awaited her. A park covering several hectares just for her and another elephant her age. We were ready to take care of her transfer and finance her veterinary care for the rest of her life. We said so and repeated it. However, Samba was sent to Hungary. To a circus that claims to be a park but continues to exploit animals as objects of spectacle and attraction.

Where is the consistency with the law banning wild animals in circuses in 2028? With three years to go before this deadline, an elephant is being handed over to a foreign circus when she could finally know peace. To add insult to injury, the ministry is also planning to allow elephants to be brought in from abroad! This is further proof of the state’s unwavering support for circuses, just a few months after announcing massive financial support for circus performers.

We demand that the truth be told about the circumstances surrounding her transfer. Samba is not an object. She is a living, sentient being, broken by decades of enslavement. She deserves justice. She deserves a real life. We are preparing a complaint against her trainer and are asking the authorities to shed light on the circumstances surrounding Samba’s “disappearance” from French territory.

No to illegal hunts in the Corrèze region! Let’s save the wolves, victims of criminal calls for poaching

No to illegal hunts in the Corrèze region! Let’s save the wolves, victims of criminal calls for poaching
30.09.2025
Corrèze, France
No to illegal hunts in the Corrèze region! Let’s save the wolves, victims of criminal calls for poaching
Wildlife

The Corrèze FDSEA (Departmental Federation of Farmers’ Unions) is calling for a “wolf hunt” to be organized on October 1 near the Millevaches plateau. This incitement to poaching is a frontal and totally illegal attack on a protected species. With their cubs just born, Milo and Mina are once again at risk of being hunted down by agricultural unions. They have the support of hunters who are rubbing their hands with glee and lobbying for the species to be made huntable. With wolves under constant attack, we will not let this pass: we are urgently alerting the authorities and will not hesitate to file a complaint.

An illegal “hunt”: a clear incitement to poaching

The FDSEA Corrèze and several other organizations have publicly announced that a “wolf hunt” will take place in the Corrèze region on Wednesday, October 1. This is a serious provocation and a direct violation of the law: wolves are a protected species, and killing them is a severely punishable offense.

This strategy is nothing new. At the beginning of the year, we had the Coordination Rurale 87 convicted for similar calls. Each time, the same agricultural lobbies attempt to trivialize the illegal killing of wolves and circumvent the law. These repeated maneuvers demonstrate a relentless desire to remove legal protections for the species and rule out any progress toward the only viable solution: coexistence.

Their goal: to make wolves huntable

Despite massive public mobilization, wolves are no longer “strictly protected” but simply “protected”. The French government is even considering allowing farmers to kill them on simple declaration, without any controls. We invite you to participate in the public consultation on the draft decree that lays the groundwork for this dramatic change. In this climate of hostility, hunters are lobbying behind the scenes to make wolves huntable without any restrictions.

The authors of this call for poaching despise animals and living creatures, and their sole objective is to defend a dying system that is keeping them artificially alive by infusions of public money” Muriel Arnal President of One Voice

We refuse to accept this relentless persecution. We are writing to the prefect and the French Office for Biodiversity to demand that they immediately ban this illegal “hunt” by the FDSEA. If it takes place despite everything, we will take legal action. Wolves are not targets: they must be defended with strength and determination.

Ten tigers rescued from a truck: at the Amiens Court of Appeal, we face the convicted trainer

Ten tigers rescued from a truck: at the Amiens Court of Appeal, we face the convicted trainer
29.09.2025
Somme
Ten tigers rescued from a truck: at the Amiens Court of Appeal, we face the convicted trainer
Exploitation for shows

In December 2020, following a lengthy investigation by One Voice, ten tigers were seized from trainer Mario Masson and transferred to a shelter under police escort. The man, who kept these animals in a truck from which they were rarely allowed to leave, was convicted in 2022. He has appealed this historic ruling. On Monday, October 6, at 1:30 p.m., we will be present at the Amiens Court of Appeal to once again defend those he mistreated.

In February 2020, we filmed the final images of an investigation which lasted more than a year in Picardy, and for which we took immense risks. The ten tigers that our investigators observed for dozens of hours lived locked in a cage truck all the time, in pouring rain and scorching heat alike. Without any enrichment, crammed together, fighting for enough water and food… they lived in hell, only coming out for a few brutal shows, notably at Parc Saint Paul.

Finally seized and placed in a sanctuary

In December 2020, after repeated alerts to the authorities, Rani, Tim, Leo, Tara, Yma, Oona, Dian, Ashley, Lily, and Douglas were released from their cages in the largest seizure of captive tigers in Europe in the last ten years. We had everything planned: a veterinarian, transport, and arrival at Tonga Terre d’Accueil. The threats from Mario Masson and his circus colleagues did not change anything: one month after receiving first aid at our partner sanctuary, the tigers finally discovered the joy of running and rolling around in the grass.

A landmark verdict

On September 20, 2022, Mario Masson appeared before the Beauvais legal tribunal on no fewer than twelve charges. A few weeks later, he was found guilty of animal abuse, with the aggravating circumstance of being a professional. This was a historic first in France. And that’s not all, as the trainer was also found guilty of illegal exploitation, illegal acquisition and sale of animals, labor law violations, and fraud. The tribunal banned him from engaging in any activity involving animals for two years, along with a two-year ineligibility period and a fine. This tribunal decision is as exemplary as it is necessary.

Almost five years after the rescue of the big cats and three years after the first instance judgment against their tormentor, we will be present at the Amiens Court of Appeal on October 6 at 1:30 p.m. to request a verdict that is just as firm as the first.

A thousand badgers were saved from being dug up in 2025 by ASPAS, AVES, and One Voice

A thousand badgers were saved from being dug up in 2025 by ASPAS, AVES, and One Voice
29.09.2025
France
A thousand badgers were saved from being dug up in 2025 by ASPAS, AVES, and One Voice
Wildlife

While France is one of the last European countries to allow the additional underground hunting season, the fight against this cruel and non-selective practice is progressing thanks to the actions of nature conservation associations. For several years, ASPAS, AVES, and One Voice, with the support of numerous local associations, have been challenging prefectural decrees authorizing this practice outside the hunting season, starting on May 15, everywhere they can. Badger cubs, still dependent on their parents and present in their burrows at this time of year, are directly affected by this indiscriminate hunting.

Every year, the dozens of requests made by our associations against these “additional periods” result in numerous victories. In 2025, twelve decrees were suspended by the courts and nearly 1,000 badgers were spared the hell of the pliers, from the Aisne to the Haute-Vienne, via the Eure region.

And this fight is progressing. Some areas, such as the Loir-et-Cher and the Vienne regions, no longer allow underground hunting. Almost everywhere else, prefectures are being forced to reduce hunting seasons. In 2020, 72 of them allowed hunters to start their digging up on May 15. By 2024, that number had fallen to 19, and by 2025, to just 12.

However, agricultural and hunting lobbies are increasing pressure to influence prefectural decisions. For several months, government departments, working hand in hand with hunters, have been sharpening their arguments and adapting their strategies, no doubt hoping that the courts will eventually tire of ruling in favor of the associations.

While 84% of French people say they are in favor of banning this archaic practice (IPSOS/One Voice poll, 2024), our associations remain fully mobilized and will use all the tools at their disposal to continue the fight next season.

Eight dolphins from Marineland in danger!

Eight dolphins from Marineland in danger!
25.09.2025
Antibes
Eight dolphins from Marineland in danger!
Exploitation for shows

One Voice calls on the Ministry of Ecological Transition to take a stand against the imminent transfer of eight dolphins from Marineland in Antibes to China, via Spain. The park has apparently taken the liberty of entering into a transaction with Selwo Marina in Malaga concerning eight of the twelve dolphins still on site. This would be the worst possible scenario, especially given that discussions were still ongoing at the beginning of the month to ensure a peaceful retirement for these animals, which have been captive and on display for years. Given the urgency of the situation, we have requested a meeting with the Ministry of Ecological Transition.

A dangerous transfer, with China as the final destination

As we know, this transfer is only temporary. This Spanish dolphinarium will be just a stopover on the way to China, as happened to the sea lions from Marineland at the beginning of the year, which passed through Madrid Zoo. This transport is as dangerous as it is trying for the animals. Isidore, a sea lion from Marineland, did not survive.

These dolphins will once again be exploited and confined, in even more deplorable conditions, in this distant country with no animal protection laws.

Only a few days left to stop the transfer!

For now, there are no cranes or crates visible at Marineland, but things are likely to change in the coming days. It takes time for Spanish trainers to “work” with the dolphins.

So there are still a few days left to stop this unacceptable project. One Voice is calling on the government to take a stand against this project, which goes completely against the spirit of the 2021 law aimed at protecting dolphins and orcas.

Given the urgency of the situation, we have requested a meeting with the Ministry of Ecological Transition. A meeting will be held this Friday, September 26, at 3 p.m.

Alongside the associations Tilikum Spirit and C’est Assez, One Voice refuses to abandon these animals to their fate.

Nearly ten months after its permanent closure, Marineland has a full responsibility towards those it has kept captive for so many years. These orcas and dolphins have enriched the park, attracted crowds, and made its shareholders prosper. Now that the stands are empty, are the animals to be relegated to mere assets to be liquidated? This logic is unworthy. This disengagement, both moral and political, is unacceptable.

For years, we have been demanding one thing: a dignified and peaceful retirement for all the animals exploited by the park.

Traditional hunting: the Council of State suspends new authorisations, saving 100,000 larks

Traditional hunting: the Council of State suspends new authorisations, saving 100,000 larks
24.09.2025
France
Traditional hunting: the Council of State suspends new authorisations, saving 100,000 larks
Wildlife

Once again, the government has attempted to authorise traditional lark hunting in the south-west of France, bowing to the constant pressure from the hunting lobby. And once again, the courts have upheld the law by suspending these decrees just a few days before the start of the hunting season. Thanks to requests made by One Voice and the LPO, nearly 100,000 skylarks have escaped this planned massacre. This is a victory for the law, but above all for these animals who are victims of archaic traditions.

Once again, the message is clear: traditional hunting is unacceptable!

It is a battle that is being repeated year after year, despite our victories and despite the opposition of the French people, and one that we will continue to fight relentlessly so that skylarks are no longer captured in nets by the tens of thousands before being killed by hand.

This is gratuitous cruelty, passed down from another age, with nothing to justify it, especially at a time when their populations are plummeting everywhere.

For years, the courts, following cases brought by One Voice and the LPO, have been revoking these authorisations, whether they be attempts at “experiments” or orders setting quotas for catches using nets, glue or stone-crush traps.

But a few weeks ago, the government, always ready to bestow gifts upon the hunters, authorised them to kill nearly 100,000 larks in the autumn of 2025. Once again, the Council of State said stop.

If it perseveres, the government will always find us standing in its way

By persisting in reintroducing these practices, the government is trampling on animal life, court decisions and the public interest. It is time to put an end to this pointless, costly and undignified standoff, given that 83% of French people are opposed to these methods (Ipsos/One Voice, October 2022).

Thanks to this victory, 100,000 lives will be spared this year. But we will remain vigilant. Because we know that without particularly strong public pressure, they will regroup and reattack. While our request against the capture of wood pigeons with nets is ongoing, we remain fully mobilised to speak out on behalf of all these birds slaughtered for the deadly pleasure of a small minority.