'Goose neck' game without carcasses
Arfeuilles Town Hall (Allier) has announced that the ‘goose neck’ event at its patron saint’s festival on 15 August will only be allowed to take place using a fake goose. No animal will be killed, hung up or beaten. One Voice welcomes this decision and calls on all local authorities where such practices still persist to follow suit: the festival, yes; the glorification of cruelty, no.
Last year, the 2025 event was cancelled two days before it was due to take place, following a report by One Voice to the Allier Departmental Directorate for the Protection of Populations (DDPP). A year on, following a further letter to the mayor from our organisation and a public campaign, the Arfeuilles town council has made its decision.
Citing the law against animal cruelty, the mayor and all the councillors have set it out in black and white: “The ‘goose neck’ event is authorised provided that the goose is a replica.”
The council itself emphasises that this decision ensures ‘the continuity’ of its festival. A tradition can evolve without disappearing. The gathering, the celebration and the passing on of traditions remain; only the violence is gone. There is no need to hang the carcass of a goose, a hen or a rabbit! An illegal practice, which still persists in a handful of municipalities
The authorities had sent out a reminder in 2025: the unnecessary killing of an animal is a criminal offence, slaughter outside a slaughterhouse is prohibited, and animal carcasses may not be used for entertainment purposes. Yet these outdated games persist, such as:
- In Saint-Bonnet-près-Riom (Puy-de-Dôme), where a One Voice investigation in 2023 revealed images of extreme violence, the ‘goose neck’ event was still held in 2025 with the support of hunters, and is due to take place again in September;
- In Brindas (Rhône), a ‘goose shooting’ event using the carcass of a goose is scheduled to take place during the festivities at the end of August;
- In Vanosc (Ardèche) and Biriatou (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), ‘goose races’ continue to be held.
One Voice is now appealing directly to the mayors and festival committees of these towns: Arfeuilles has just demonstrated that replacing animals with decoys is possible, simple and can be done immediately. The organisation is calling for each of these events to be organised, starting this year, without any animals whatsoever, dead or alive. It also calls for the issue of the consequences of introducing teenagers to violence perpetrated against animals to finally be addressed.
One Voice invites the public to sign the petition ‘Stop the “Goose Neck” game’, which calls for a ban on this practice throughout the country: https://one-voice.fr/petition/stop-au-jeu-du-cou-de-loie/
‘Goose Neck’ game without carcasses
A ‘Goose Neck’ event without any animal carcasses in Arfeuilles: One Voice urges the remaining organising local authorities to follow suit