Gard: a female wolf found strangled to death in a trap? One Voice is filing a complaint.
A canine resembling a wolf has been found dead, choked by a neck snare, at the beginning of March.
In Barjec in Gard, the body of a female wolf was found at the beginning of March. She had died in the throes of a snare, a barbaric trap that is actually illegal. This sordid event reminds us once again that these traps from ancient times must be banned. One Voice intends to file a complaint for the destruction of a protected species and the violation of regulations relating to the practice of trapping.
Photo : DR
Updated 17 March at 9:15am
The Gard Prefecture has confirmed on 16 March that the trapped animal found dead on 7 March was in fact a female wolf. Transported to the Gard departmental testing laboratories in Nîmes last week for an autopsy, the initial results indicate that this is an individual belonging to the Canis Lupus species. A young female weighing 23 kilograms in bad health: bone callus, brittle fur, no subcutaneous fat. Other tests are under way in order to specifically determine the origin population of this wolf. We are fighting for justice to be done for her.
Snares: non-selective traps
Despite snares still being permitted by law, particularly for trapping foxes, they nonetheless remain to be cruel instruments that make the trapped animals suffer terribly.
One of the trappers’ favourite arguments is the so-called selectivity of these traps that are only supposed to capture the species for which they were put there for. But in actual fact, as soon as they are placed in nature, it is impossible to prevent other animals from coming into contact with them. This is how Cooky’s existence ended almost five years ago. We have filed a complaint for him and his family.
Furthermore, even if these traps aim to capture individuals of a targeted species, we must not forget that the ultimate goal that they are aiming towards is the slaughter of these animals considered to be troublesome, or even ‘pests’, by farmers and hunters.
Animals who do not die by being strangled can be left dying for hours in leghold traps, as was the case for Cooper, taken by a device that is actually banned. They can also be prisoners of a metal loop tightening around their leg or stomach, which then acts as a tourniquet that can cut into the flesh. As well as the physical pain, they are plagued by fear and intense stress, and also remain exposed to climatic conditions and attacks by other animals, before finally being killed by the trapper.
As Dr Gilbert Proulx (French-Canadian biologist known internationally for his work on the trapping of mammals and his expertise in wildlife management) recalls in a 2022* study:
«Certain methods of capturing and killing have such extreme effects on animal well-being that, whatever the potential advantages may be, the use of them is never justifiable. The use of snares falls under this category.»
The same suffering for dogs and wolves
Wolves, who in fact belong to a protected species and are already slaughtered with the involvement of the State as well as being poached, must also be wary of traps. However, trapping a protected species is strictly forbidden by law and can even be linked to poaching.
The French Office for Biodiversity has recovered the body of the animal for an autopsy and must confirm whether or not it is a wolf. The photo distributed on 10 March 2023, and the witness statement from a former wolf-hunting officer who had access to it, leave little room for doubt.
But let’s be clear: if the victim of this torture device turned out not to be a wolf but a dog, or any other animal, its agony and suffering would have been the same. One Voice is demanding justice for her too.
Join us in our fight: sign our petition to say no to persecuting wolves. For the animal taken by this trap, One Voice is filing a complaint for the destruction of a protected species as appropriate and the breach of regulations surrounding the practice of trapping at the public prosecutor’s office in Alès.
*Mammal Trapping ̶ Wildlife Management, Animal Welfare & International Standards 121 G. Proulx, editor. Alpha Wildlife Publications, 2022.
Translated from the French by Joely Justice