One Voice is taking part in the first International Badger Day on 15 May throughout France!
One Voice is taking part in the first International Badger Day on the weekend of 15 May 2022.
On the weekend of 15 May, the first International Badger Day will take place. One Voice is joining its partners to lead awareness campaigns in around ten French towns on these little mustelids, so poorly known and cruelly hunted in our country.
(Petitions, locations, and dates at the end of the report).
With their black and white coats, badgers are easily recognisable. But rare are those who have a chance to observe these reserved mustelids. These sensitive and social animals are accused of all sorts of wrongdoings. However, enthusiastic workers, solitary and peaceful, they deserve all of our respect rather than being massacred at the bottoms of their burrows. One Voice is calling for them to be defended and protected. On the weekend of 15 May, there will be a chance for the Association to join ASPAS [Association for the Protection of Wild Animals] and other partners to celebrate badgers and to show the public who they really are.
An unprecedented investigation of badger diggers
When it comes to cruelty, hunters have never lacked inspiration. And among their inventions is a particular monstrosity: underground hunting with hounds. This perfectly legal practice consists of hassling an animal at the bottom of its burrow by making it submit to hours of terror and pain before its last gasp. Those who are adept at this ‘hobby’ love to carry out frenzied attacks on badgers particularly…
What better in fact than persecuting defenceless beings to enjoy the pleasure of watching them suffer and congratulating oneself as being the strongest? Badger digging is a barbaric ‘hobby’, disguised as so-called useful and necessary hunting. The terrible footage from our infiltration investigation shows all of the violence of this practice, which not only kills animals but also damages forests.
France’s cruel exception
Their existence in nature is in no way an obstacle to cultivation. Incidentally, badgers are protected animals in England and Wales as well as in the Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, and Hungary. France is therefore an exception in Europe and this exception is not cultural but cruel. These false arguments allow hunters to persecute and massacre them in their burrows, be it adults or juveniles, from mid-May to mid-January every year with the timely help of the prefects who have passed numerous decrees. Hunters are even looking to have badgers added to the list of animals likely to cause damage (previously referred to as pests).
I love badgers!
Words are fundamental to the way in which we imagine the world. In French slang, the word for badger is derogatory. In the Robert dictionary, they are referred to as “an unsympathetic, stubborn, and petty character.” In the Larousse dictionary: “a conformist, stubborn, silly individual”. Changing attitudes is as necessary as changing regulations. Also, on the occasion of this first International Badger Day, let’s claim this term for ourselves. On 15 May, we are inviting everyone to claim to be a badger by using the campaign imagery and the hashtag #CEstQuiLeBlaireau (#WhoIsABadger) as well as the usual #JAimeLesBlaireaux (#ILoveBadgers).
The French want hunters to leave badgers alone
More than eight in ten French people demand a ban on underground hunting with hounds (Ipsos/One Voice survey in September 2021). Together, let’s get this abomination banned!
With our various petitions, let’s demand a ban on underground hunting with hounds, the protection of badgers throughout France (and that the term for ‘badger’, when used as an insult, is removed from the dictionary).
We invite you to also sign the petition launched on the Senate’s website, allowing guaranteed integrity of the signatures, to protect badgers. https://petitions.senat.fr/ini…
One Voice will be present in the following towns:
Note: before going, consider verifying that the location and date have not been changed.
- Annecy – 14 May: https://www.facebook.com/event…
- Bordeaux – 15 May: https://www.facebook.com/event…
- La Rochelle – 14 May: https://www.facebook.com/event…
- Lyon – 14 May: https://www.facebook.com/event…
- Metz – 14 May: https://www.facebook.com/event…
- Montpellier – 15 May: https://www.facebook.com/event…
- Nice – 14 May: https://www.facebook.com/event…
- Paris – 15 May: https://www.facebook.com/event…
- Strasbourg – 15 May: https://www.facebook.com/event…
- Troyes – 14 May: https://www.facebook.com/event…
- You can find other locations and campaigns on the International Badger Day website
Translated from the French by Joely Justice