Mayors: for the sake of animals and the environment, ban hunting!
Every year, hunting kills tens of millions of animals. From farm-raised pheasants released to be slaughtered, to badgers chased into their burrows, to foxes and birds, this hobby spreads suffering throughout our forests. In addition to stealing lives, it is also a mortal danger to the environment: nearly 8,000 tonnes of lead are discarded every year, not to mention millions of plastic and metal cases. Because action is urgently needed at all levels, One Voice is providing mayors with a draft “turnkey” municipal bylaw to put an end to this absolute plundering of nature.
Animals poisoned, nature polluted: the true toll of hunting
There are the tens of millions that hunters take pleasure in killing every year. Then there are all those – protected species included – who are only wounded and survive with their bodies riddled with lead. This metal, still massively used, is a mortal danger: it pollutes waterways and subsoils and, when ingested by mammals or birds, is the cause of numerous diseases, such as lead poisoning. If they don’t die quickly, they in turn contaminate other animals.
While lead is currently banned only in the immediate vicinity of wetlands, and is still regularly used in ball-trap events, it’s high time to go further: together with the European Environmental Bureau, One Voice is campaigning for these bans to be strengthened. The survival of fish, birds and all those who pay a high price so that a handful of individuals can practice this deadly hobby depends on it.
Every walker knows that, in addition to lead, the soil of our forests is littered with cartridge cases, a mixture of plastic and metal. This pollution is largely kept secret, yet there are ways of taking action!
Mayors: you can act!
Local councilors are often powerless to prevent the destruction of the environment in their communities. When it comes to hunting, the prefects are all-powerful, and it’s easy to understand why when you see how their decisions are all too often taken with the sole aim of satisfying the demands of this lobby – to the point where they sometimes get things mixed up.
However, mayors are not condemned to impotence. They have important prerogatives when it comes to waste. And what is hunting, if not an activity aimed not only at killing living creatures, but also at scattering tons of waste in the countryside with guns, with complete impunity?
Because it’s urgent, we’re calling on mayors to adopt the draft decree to drastically limit this practice and take action to protect the environment. To support us in this initiative, please forward this draft bylaw to your mayor! And to raise the voice of animals even higher, sign our petition for a radical reform of hunting!