One Voice will be at the Nîmes Administrative Tribunal on 15 November 2022 to save the Lozère and Haute-Loire wolves
Almost two and a half years after we filed our appeal, the administrative court ruled on April 10: as we had argued at the time, the decree issued by the prefectures of Lozère and Haute-Loire was indeed illegal.
The court upheld two major arguments: the administration had provided no evidence that the herds were adequately protected, nor that the wolves had caused serious disruption to livestock farming activities.
“We are satisfied with this decision, although we regret that the decree was not suspended as a matter of urgency from 2022, as we had requested. The wolves were therefore hunted down completely illegally. Nevertheless, we hope that this ruling will pave the way for better protection of wolves in the future. These highly intelligent animals deserve to live in peace.” Muriel Arnal, President of One Voice.
On Tuesday 15 November 2022, One Voice will be in Nîmes to get the decree allowing wolves to be killed in the towns of Chanaleilles, Saint-Alban-sur-Limagnole, and Lajo, where it is currently forbidden, urgently suspended. For the Association, who are very committed to their defence, the stakes are high and the urgency is real: wolves’ lives are at stake. The Lozère and Haute-Loire Prefects have published this decree that permits the authorisation of a wolf massacre, even if it puts the species in even more danger, rather than making farmers to face up to their responsibilities, particularly in correctly protecting herds.
As a reminder, wolves are a species protected by the Bern Convention as well as the 1992 ‘Habitats’ Directive. The latter has imposed an implementation of strict protection for wolves within the member states. France has therefore taken steps for this purpose, which appear in the Environmental Code. As always, exemptions to this protection can nevertheless be legally approved if conditions are met…
They still have to be! This is what we are calling into question in our application targeting the 26 October decree. For us, these irregularities may mean that the court recognises that there is a doubt on the legality of the decree.
For example, the Prefect merely says, with no further clarification, that the farmers concerned have implemented protection measures for herds002C without justifying that they are effective, while it is, however, a sine qua non condition for shooting permissions to be granted. The damage attributed to the wolves is debatable at the very least. Another essential circumstance required to authorise an exemption: a steady increase in shooting (scaring, then simple defence, then intense, and finally, ‘testing’ shots), without even having been implemented beforehand.
At the same time, there is a veritable urgency to suspend the decree because it has been in place for around fifteen days and the wolves’ deaths is by definition irreversible. Their species is protected and pastoral activities are not in danger. Furthermore, according to science, the efficacy of shooting to reduce damage is not proven.
Finally, when damage is present, the State compensates for it. Furthermore, we cannot forget that herds are destined for the abattoir by farmers, and that herding is no longer what it used to be. The practice is different, the number and type of animals have also evolved… not for the better, either for nature or for animals.
On 7 November 2022, One Voice therefore filed an emergency interim suspension proceeding which deals with the immediate effects of the decree, and an appeal for cancellation which deals with the legality of the decree. The emergency interim proceeding hearing is set for 15 November at the Nîmes Administrative Tribunal.
Once again we find ourselves in a situation where Prefects prefer a form of social harmony, sparing the sensitivity of farmers who can turn out to be violent when they do not win their case (we have seen this even recently) rather than respecting the principles of protecting an endangered species. The inter-prefectural decree that we are challenging is a dispensation of the existing law — which to us already does not seem sufficiently protective — allowing more wolves to be killed again and again, while the necessary conditions for its authorisation are not even met.
Translated from the French by Joely Justice
Almost two and a half years after we filed our appeal, the administrative court ruled on April 10: as we had argued at the time, the decree issued by the prefectures of Lozère and Haute-Loire was indeed illegal.
The court upheld two major arguments: the administration had provided no evidence that the herds were adequately protected, nor that the wolves had caused serious disruption to livestock farming activities.
“We are satisfied with this decision, although we regret that the decree was not suspended as a matter of urgency from 2022, as we had requested. The wolves were therefore hunted down completely illegally. Nevertheless, we hope that this ruling will pave the way for better protection of wolves in the future. These highly intelligent animals deserve to live in peace.” Muriel Arnal, President of One Voice.