News Archive - Page 105 of 144

Cooky ended up choked to death in a trap for a fox

Cooky ended up choked to death in a trap for a fox
12.12.2018
France
Cooky ended up choked to death in a trap for a fox
Domestic animals

Cooky ended his life in a fox trap in the worst kind of pain. His torturer heard people calling for the dog and yet he left it dying over several days. When he contacted the family, it was to get rid of Cooky’s body. One Voice defends his memory in court and asks for an exemplary sentence.

Cooky loved to walk alone. His collar and his chip allowed his owners to feel assured. They adopted him after finding him homeless when a baby, injured in his neck. This kind of survivor had a taste for the great outdoors. And if he disappeared, he always returned after a few hours of escaping.

But on the Thursday of November 29^th2018, Cooky did not return. The whole family then went looking for him, thoroughly searching the surrounding area for several kilometres by car and by foot, they continued the next day and the days that followed. On December 1^st, they searched for him in the area where his executioner lived. Cooky must have heard their calls but he was already caught in the fox trap that was slowly suffocating him and could not answer them. What a terrible anxiety for him and his family!

The poor dog would have struggled, worried and panicked for many hours, unfortunately worsening his situation. He would have eventually suffocated and lost consciousness before taking his last breath … The seriousness of his suffering is detailed in the report of the veterinarian. Thinking of it breaks our hearts.

The torturer would have also heard people calling their dog. Still, he did not move. He did nothing to free Cooky, and left him in agony for several days in the trap!

Where is basic compassion? Where is empathy? The fate of Cooky is a drama, the same for the foxes whom this trap was intended for. The life of forest animals is as valuable as that of those who share our lives. The coldness of this man shows us once again that violence does not depend on the victim or its species, but on the lack of humanity from the one who inflicts it.

The villain in this tragic story even went further by contacting the family a week after Cooky’s disappearance: he had to pay to bury him and he did not intend spending any money on that. It was only during the conversation that Cooky’s owner, the one who eventually picked him up, his throat in blood, understood that his companion was dead. And in going to collect his lifeless body, he heard for himself how this man had trapped and let him die before his eyes …

We have pressed charges for the family in shock and for Cooky, for the cruelty, the wilful harm inflicted on an animal, and for the unauthorized trapping. Our Zoé Cell will represent them at the trial and demand an exemplary sentence! To support us in this fight, please sign our petition denouncing violence against pets.

For the birds: One Voice against the Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition at the State Council, Monday December 17th

For the birds: One Voice against the Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition at the State Council, Monday December 17th
12.12.2018
France
For the birds: One Voice against the Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition at the State Council, Monday December 17th
Wildlife

Monday 17th December at 10.30 am at the State Council, a hearing will be held on the emergency suspension requested by the association One Voice of the 11 judgments signed by François de Rugy, Minister of Ecological and Solidarity Transition, concerning traditional traps for birds.

Scarcely appointed minister, one of the first decisions taken by François de Rugy was to adopt 11 ministerial orders authorizing the trapping of birds according to traditional methods and which are known to be cruel. As soon as we announced the publication of these orders, we announced that we would be attacking them one by one before the courts. One Voice has therefore filed an urgent request for the suspension of these orders, which will be examined at a hearing at the State Council on Monday 17^thDecember at 10.30 am.

Endangered birds already hunted everywhere in France

A recent study by the Museum of Natural History and the CNRS showed the significant decline of birds in our countryside, evoking a phenomenon of a « massive disappearance », « close to an ecological disaster », because of the reduction in their numbers by ‘a third in the last fifteen years, which is considerable.

These birds are already hunted by shooting in on French territory. These orders are in addition to the arsenal available to hunters and trappers to be able to kill, this is already so bad.

Cruel traps for birds, tradition is in the background

The few birds that survive in our countryside – despite the disappearance of natural areas and the spreading of pesticides, not only content by poisoning them directly they are also starving them by exterminating the insects – therefore they are not only shot on sight, but also caught in traps.

In flight, a net is distinguished only at the last moment. Too late to avoid it, legs and wings get stuck. In struggling, often the legs or wings break. Worse, if the birds manage to break away by squirming, they fall to the ground. If the fall is not fatal enough, injured they become too vulnerable to survive.

With the glue traps, the birds land on the coated branch, and cannot fly off. Again, the wings and legs are stuck, and the panicked birds hurt themselves while struggling.

The hunters / trappers argue that they free them if they are not part of the targeted species. But how many are bait for others? How many are to injured to survive? How many are poached?

If the State Council judges, as One Voice believes it will, that the orders must be suspended before the end of their legal validity and not because of a quota that would have been exceeded, this would be a significant step forward in bird conservation.

These intelligent and sensitive beings represent a wealth of biodiversity and are an integral part of the nation’s heritage.

Not only must these orders be suspended and rescinded, but One Voice is also advocating that these traps be banned.

One Voice calls for a radical reform of the hunt, with stricter restrictions on the hunt, and a ban on the cruellest practices, as a majority of French respondents (IPSOS poll for One Voice of 7^thOctober 2018). 84% of French people are in favour of banning traps for hunting (Glue to immobilize birds, nets to capture them without distinction of species, etc.) 76% believe this is already the case.

Here are the 11 decrees for which the hearing was fixed urgently by the State Council:

The decree of 24^thSeptember 2018 concerning the capture of the skylark (Alauda arvensis) by means of nets in the Gironde department for the 2018-2019 campaign
The order of 24^thSeptember 2018 concerning the capture of the skylark (Alauda arvensis) by means of nets and cage traps in the Landes department for the 2018-2019 season
The order of 24^thSeptember 2018 concerning the capture of the skylark (Alauda arvensis) by means of nets andcage traps in the Lot-et-Garonne department for the 2018-2019 campaign
The order of 24^thSeptember 2018 concerning the capture of the skylark (Alauda arvensis) by means of nets in the department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques for the 2018-2019 campaign
The decree of 24^thSeptember 2018 concerning the use of glues for the capture of thrushes and blackbirds intended to serve as decoys, in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department for the 2018-2019 campaign
The decree of 24^thSeptember 2018 concerning the use of glues for the capture of thrushes and blackbirds intended to act as decoys, in the Alpes-Maritimes department for the 2018-2019 campaign
Decree of 24^thSeptember 2018 on the use of glues for the capture of thrushes and blackbirds intended to serve as decoys, in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône for the 2018-2019 campaign
The decree of 24^thSeptember 2018 concerning the use of glues for the capture of thrushes and blackbirds intended to serve as decoys, in the department of Vaucluse for the 2018-2019 campaign
The decree of 24^thSeptember 2018 concerning the capture of lapwings and golden plovers in the department of the Ardennes for the 2018-2019 campaign
The decree of 24^thSeptember 2018 concerning the use of glues for the capture of thrushes and blackbirds intended to serve as decoys, in the department of Var for the 2018-2019 campaign
The decree of September 24^th, 2018 relating to tenderness thrushes or blackbirds in the department of the Ardennes for the campaign 2018-2019

Let’s save the ibex of Haute-Savoie!

Let’s save the ibex of Haute-Savoie!
11.12.2018
Savoie
Let’s save the ibex of Haute-Savoie!
Wildlife

Ibex with long fluted horns like to roam over the rocky ridges, 3000 meters above sea level. From above, they can scan the vast landscape and spot predators. It’s crazy, these goats play on the steepest slopes, leaping from one ledge to another without the slightest dizziness. One Voice is fighting for their survival.

This is because the ibex knows his mountain well. He has lived there for so long! Our ancestors already painted his image by torchlight in the Lascaux cave. Under the pressure from crossbows and firearms, they almost disappeared in the 19th century. They were reintroduced in Italy in 1922, then in the French Alps in 1970 where nearly 3000 ibex live today. Prohibited to be hunted and protected by the Bern Convention on endangered species, the ibex of Bargy should be able to live happily.

Yet, for commercial pretexts and so-called sanitary, they are since 2013 the target of prefectural requests ordering their slaughter. It has been hypothesized that ibexes may have played a role in the contamination of the Reblochon cheese, although they do not frequent the same places as cows, and transmission of contaminants is complex or unlikely.

It is their eradication which is consciously organized. But the pretext of this killing, a zoonosis, some ibex are carriers, only fuels the fear. Shooting, on the other hand, does not solve the problem, on the contrary. The risk is great of a spread to other mountain ranges by the dispersion of the few animals that have escaped the shooters.

These killings are all the more useless as there are alternative solutions, such as euthanasia of only sick animals, which can suffer from severe arthritis, and vaccination with a follow-up of healthy animals. But no, as always, Nature is seen as a means of profit, the only one that is worth it. Shoot, regulate … for the comfort and benefit of some humans. It is time for this to stop. Wildlife, here and elsewhere, is worth so much more.

With its partners, in August 2018, One Voice made a new appeal against the prefectural decree of ibex slaughter to demand its cancellation, and we will sue all the orders that are planned to kill these majestic inhabitants of the mountain!

The ordeal of Kuma, a small stray cat

The ordeal of Kuma, a small stray cat
09.12.2018
France
The ordeal of Kuma, a small stray cat
Domestic animals

What a traumatic experience for Kuma! Our Zoe Cell will be there, One Voice will organise her care and we will represent her in court. We will do everything to ensure that the perpetrator of this abominable act is found. Because for us, stray cats are still important!

For years, One Voice has been committed to defending stray cats, those who have nobody that cares, to offer love or safety and food. Poor Kuma suffered unparalleled violence: thrown against a wall, hit with a baseball bat, treated like an object and kicked, her fate is that of many stray cats without a home. So vulnerable, she was the ideal prey …

Kuma « lancée contre un mur, frappée avec un objet de type batte de base-ball et rouée de coups de pieds ». La souffrance abyssale des chats errants qui n’ont personne pour les pleurer. Nous portons plainte! #CelluleZoé #UrgenceErranceFéline @F3PaysdelaLoire https://t.co/TfJqh7HycK

— One Voice (@onevoiceanimal) 8 décembre 2018

How many cats, like Chevelu and Kuma, are close to death after being the victim of the worst kind of cruelty and without anyone knowing about it? We do not see the fear in their eyes, we do not see their thin and hungry bodies walking by, however, they are there, still suffering, in apathy and indifference.

Whether it’s the rescue of these cats and the convictions of their torturers, our Zoé Cell takes care of their rescue and all of the legal actions that follow. But we also publicize these terrible stories so that the public become aware and above all so they do not happen again. We also emphasize the pedagogical aspect, informing again and again about the imperative necessity of sterilization. We also want to ban sales in pet stores or classified ads because behind them are often hidden traffickers or people indifferent to the suffering of animals. Saving animals, empowering, changing the regulations and putting an end to the impunity of these violent people who use animals as mere objects and mistreat them … These are our missions.

As long as one cat still has to suffer cruelty, our fight will continue! Thank you for continuing to sign and share our Stray Feline Emergency petition.

Lechmee is retired with another elephant!

Lechmee is retired with another elephant!
09.12.2018
Lechmee is retired with another elephant!
Exploitation for shows

In Europe, in a place protected from the public, Lechmee now enjoys the peace away from the roads. The circus has given way to our pressure. It is a relief for all of us, who have been struggling for years to end the life of dressage and homelessness.

Some years ago we had searched for Lechmee and discovered that she was finally released from her life of forced labour. She no longer suffers long truck journeys or dressage for shows! The chains on her feet are behind her now. We spoke with the people in the centre who took care of her, they assured us that she would no longer be exhibited in the public eye and that her life would no longer be staged. Lechmee has already made her mark, helped by a younger elephant who welcomed her with great care, and she even begins to lie down to rest her legs, finally! What beautiful news!

After more than 40 years on the roads and circuit, the old elephant captured as a child in her free family in Asia had become blind. And her right front leg, sore with osteoarthritis, disabled her for many years walking and supporting the weight of her body.

This did not prevent the circus Medrano who exploited her to make her parade in the streets. Surrounded by Mina and Kamala, her companions as always, very protective with her as the elephants know how to be, she supported this sad fate, surviving these terrible conditions.

Mina helped her to eat by putting her directly in front of the hay, the only food available; and during the shows, as soon as she let go of Kamala’s tail, her trunk beat the air to find her way. Surrounded by darkness and suffering from a bad leg, it had to end.

According to the ministerial decree governing travelling circuses, her case was clear, as an old elephant in poor health, she had to be placed to rest. And since it was not so, it had to be denounced and sanctioned. This is why One Voice chose not only to denounce and raise awareness but also to take concrete action in court to obtain her seizure and her placement into sanctuary.

Unpublished action for elephants, we had filed an interlocutory release, a procedure usually reserved for humans and seized the general controller for the places of deprivation of liberty. But we had not been heard. We also lodged a complaint for acts of cruelty, enriched by a specific part for bad treatment after the parades. On this occasion we wrote to the Minister of Ecological Transition and Solidarity, and the prosecutor of Epinal to demand their seizure to all three. We had also provided the judiciary with an expert report on their health, advocating Lechmee’s retirement.

What is the point of a rule that is part of a law, if no one condemns those who break it? Despite what the circus trumpets on about, the decision to retire Lechmee is the result of an uninterrupted campaign on all fronts!

From now on, this period of her life is behind her and Lechmee is taking full advantage of the open air, the emerging affection from an elephant who knows her surroundings and accompanies it well. She moves freely, can lie down to rest or take mud baths if the need calls for it. it’s a new life for this matriarch. Yes finally.

Our fight for the animals exploited in the circuses continues, to obtain the liberation of all these suffering beings, and their placement into sanctuaries. Mina and Kamala are still locked up and exhibited on the circuit. Our complaint for them is more relevant than ever. For receiving countless acts of cruelty for Lechmee as well, because this release does not erase years of abuse!

You can continue to sign our petition, to release all three, which this too is based on abuse, we have images: electric shocks, blows, there paddock is far too small and without free access to water during a heat wave …a show that we will not stop as long as this masquerade continues.

La Piste aux étoiles, a terrestrial hell

La Piste aux étoiles, a terrestrial hell
07.12.2018
France
La Piste aux étoiles, a terrestrial hell
Exploitation for shows

The circus La Piste aux étoiles (Pathway to the Stars) is only in name. In reality, it is hell that reigns there for the sequestered animals. This circus that held Maya continues to harm many other victims for whom we are fighting for. Our investigators have reported shocking images.

These shaking and rattling trucks on the roads with damaged cages, rusty bars, eyes that stare, apathetic animals, even injured or sick … Welcome to theLa Piste aux étoiles (Pathway to the Stars). In this circus, the very one where the elephant Maya allowed herself to perish before we intervened, many other sequestrated beings continue to suffer.

Images to cry over

For them too, One Voice is mobilizing. It is not because Maya is no longer there that we have released our vigilance … quite the contrary! We follow closely these misfortunate old companions of hers. These include Nelly and Brigit, two other elephants from Asia, wildcats and baboons. All are enduring hell. Our investigators have reported horrific images of this prison where their most basic needs are flouted. While the monkeys bathe in their garbage almost never cleaned out and only enjoy a vague and dark filthy existence, the felines are confined to tiny screened spaces. They only have a small « ridiculous cage » where tigers and lions are mixed while these species never mix in the wild. As for the elephants, they trample for hours on tarmac floors between two demanding clown performances, both equally physical and psychological. Like other animals, they have no source of activity to relieve the boredom, norto shelter from sight. Their mechanical and repetitive swinging movements betray a common stereotypical behaviour and that of their immense despair.

Failing « specialists »

Images shot by our investigators are now in the hands of experts for new legal actions. In our action for Maya an independent veterinarian working in the circuses and appointed by the Prefect had formally recognized the deplorable living conditions of this elephant. However, one of her colleagues said in another report, at the same time, exactly the opposite and found that Maya was in good form: « She eats, moves, interacts with her environment and her keeper is calm « . This woman had been appointed after we had alerted the Prefecture of Gard how this circus functioned, about the distress of certain animals. What this veterinarian writes about Maya is very disturbing to other people she came to see. A tigress with cancer and a neck injury, for example, did not appear « in a state of suffering » either. Did she minimize each of her observations? Did she not observe correctly due to a lack of training? According to her, in any case, « nothing was abnormal ». This type of official attestation, signed by some of these « specialists » who seem to know nothing of pain and suffering before their very eyes, is extremely dangerous for the beings they are supposed to be protecting. Because of their inactivity, these issues are quickly shelved while the horror continues. For Maya, history has proven that she was in great trouble when this graduate of animal medicine certified the opposite. The elephant might be dead today if we did not have her moved to a decent place of retirement. Fortunately, justice has gradually opened its eyes. But this does now make it possible to account for the incompetence of certain « professionals » on which the authorities often rely in order to explain to us that the animals of the circuses are well … Hence the difficulty of our fight to defend them. But whatever the time it will take to be heard, we will speak for the voiceless! For each and every one of them.

Emma and Gypsie, a friendship destroyed by a hunter

Emma and Gypsie, a friendship destroyed by a hunter
06.12.2018
Montolieu
Emma and Gypsie, a friendship destroyed by a hunter
Domestic animals

One perished under live ammunition, Gypsie. The other is inconsolable, Emma. The first was a little dog, the second is a very young girl. A wonderful friendship united them, but a hunter split them apart. He executed Gypsie and One Voice demands that he be punished for this crime.

On November 11^th, the little girl Emma a resident of Montolieu (11), posted and shared her distress on Twitter. A representative for the hunters of the region had just brought back the body of her dog Gypsie, killed with a single shot at close range. A group of people shared the girl’s pain and retweeted her message over 20,000 times.

Aujourd’hui les chasseurs de Montolieu ont tués ma chienne d’un coup de fusil
c’est vrai qu’elle ressemble beaucoup à un sanglier. Alors bande de sous race, je vais vous retrouver et vous traîner en justice, chasser avec 4g dans le sang ça vous apprendra pic.twitter.com/JDKqiVQavT

— emmatome (@emma_drey) 11 novembre 2018

An inadmissible crime!

One Voice immediately approached Emma to support her and better understand the circumstances of the drama. She told us that the person who reported the bloody corpse of Gypsie admitted to being the culprit of this monstrous act. The man tried to justify himself by explaining that stray dogs had recently attacked his goats and that he had shot Gypsie by mistake. But, according to Emma, it cannot be an accident. The hunter is a neighbour, he knows her family and their four-legged friends very well! Who would have imagined that he would one day target their faithful friend Gypsie? The poor girl even had to go to in front of her enemy without any fear, since she often rubbed shoulders with him and trusted him!

At the side of Emma and her family

From now on, the body of this little dog now lies underground, in front of Emma’s house. It was covered with many injuries’ secondary to that of a firearm – certified by a veterinary certificate – before being buried. These are incurable wounds that the girl now carries forever in her heart. Even if no one can return Gypsie to her, she fights to honour her memory and the perpetrator is no longer able to harm her. Her family has since press charges against him on November 17^th. We are at her side. One Voice joins the proceedings and claims that the one who stole Gypsie’s life should be heavily condemned!

Picture: Emma

In Mézilles, dog breeding and the State pair up against dogs

In Mézilles, dog breeding and the State pair up against dogs
05.12.2018
Mézilles
In Mézilles, dog breeding and the State pair up against dogs
Animal testing

Thousands of dogs suffer behind the walls of the Mézilles breeding farm. Their future is cold and stinks of laboratory formaldehyde. However, the State has just agreed the expansion of this place, and the owners don’t stop there, they want to remove the evidence, appealing against the court decisions that are in our favour. We will not abandon these poor beagles and golden retrievers.

The Prefecture takes sides with the breeder!

Last spring in the Yonne, the largest breeder of dogs intended for animal experimentation (the CEDS) made a request for the expansion of its premises. We launched legal proceedings against this opaque breeder, for acts of cruelty, ill-treatment and lack of care, and obtained a report from a bailiff that confirms the presence of irregularities.

As always, we denounce, alert, propose solutions, and act! We conducted a local awareness campaign where many citizens were unaware of what was happening next to their homes (on the ground in Auxerre, pulling in the area, holding a conference with an expert veterinarian). We launched a petition that strongly which mobilized many: more than 75,000 signatures in just a few months for the closure of this breeding centre. And we met the chief of staff for the Prefect of Yonne.

So, what does the Prefect do? It has just authorized the order to increase the capacity of the holding area of this breeder. We have challenged in the courts this shameful order! This order authorizing the increase of the capacity of reception is a demonstration that here again the representatives of the State go against current progress towards change and the expectations of the population.

For the second time this breeder wishes to erase all evidence!

Our bailiff’s report – ordered by the judge and validated in first instance – is again attacked by the breeder, who does not want us to use this evidence. We had won, but the owners are appealing. They seek impunity, it is very clear. They remark that our complaint is unreliable due to the unfound words of the bailiff. We will defend our right to use this authentic document on February 21^stat 2.00 pm in the Court of Auxerre. Evidence cannot just disappear!

Animal experimentation is a scientific model to be replaced by another method, more reliable, and without cruelty. In the area of Souches de Mézilles, the Golden Retrievers and Beagles are already far too many to be suffering in their cages, the prefecture should not have authorized the order to allow their breeding, as the file presents many irregularities. We will continue to defend these poor dogs without family and without love, despite the attacks from this breeding.

A science that must become more reliable and more ethical

What future can we hope for science, in a society that is stubborn and performs so many tests on animals, a huge part of which is not only avoidable but whose usefulness is even scientifically unjustified? Is this still science?

The funders of research, the State and business owners must invest heavily in other methods more reliable than those which have been used for so long! Medical and health scandals are the signals that must alert us and there have been so many … The use of animal life for this purpose must be drastically decreased!

Please sign our petition to close down the facility located in Mézilles that breeds dogs for laboratories!

Resilience through Banana Oils, Kadalys’ Ethical Entrepreneurship

Resilience through Banana Oils, Kadalys’ Ethical Entrepreneurship
05.12.2018
Martinique
Resilience through Banana Oils, Kadalys’ Ethical Entrepreneurship
Animal testing

Shirley Billot is the creator of the company Kadalys, who is very committed to the fight for both human and non-human animals and for the planet, in our own image. Its organic and vegan products based on banana oils, have received the One Voice label, a sign of quality and commitment. A first meeting.

How was your brand Kadalys born?

The very first trigger was when my son was 6 months old, the conventional products that I was advised to treat his skin problems with only worsened his allergic reactions. It was only by resorting to traditional medicine from Martinique that he received relief, and also in the long run! It was enough just to use the fat part of the banana skin … I have always been interested in the cosmetics and pharmacopoeia of the Caribbean, but there I could see how good and bad they were…

«Kadalys is a brand of cosmetics based on banana oils, totally organic, vegan, not tested on animals, and which has just been labelled by One Voice!»Shirley Billot

But more concretely, after several years in the metropolis where I studied, I decided to return to live in Martinique. On the spot, an impression of waste, both social and economic: the only possibilities open to people are either to undergo a system that is not profitable to them, or to leave.

« Neither to give in nor to leave »

The banana industry is doing extremely well in Martinique, it is our first source of income. But everything is exported. As often, one exploits at one place, and the riches do not return to those who create them. As the 2009 strike against the high cost of living lasted more than a month, people were and still are, for many, stuck between inequality and exports, without dreams or prospects.

It does not correspond with my idea of the world. I could not do it. In the Overseas, we represent diverse issues for France and Europe, anyway! I do not know what stirred in me first, but I found the way to get involved in the transformation and the future of our society, with my roots and with these vital forces.

You have managed to link sustainable development and a circular economy, is that it?

Yes! This banana growing industry creates a lot of losses. It’s an incredible mess: 40,000 tons of bananas are thrown away! Whether single bananas, or those slightly damaged, the sector is not discrete either in their actions. To joke, I call them the ugly ones and the singles ones. They will not sell on the shelves of the supermarkets or grocery stores. And yet, realize, at one euro per kilo, they are wasted with very high added value! From there was born my idea of transforming this waste into wealth, using it and to give it value right on the spot.

« finding value in the ugly and the singles »

My ecological awareness and my sense of enterprise merged at that time, for the benefit of my region. Everyone must act to their measure, for the planet, for animals, for us: to avoid waste, unemployment and poverty, and to respect others. This is my contribution. It was necessary for me to launch this idea.

We then carried out a study as part of a thesis at the faculty of pharmacy of Montpellier, in partnership with CIRAD (the French organization for agronomic research and international cooperation for the sustainable development of tropical and Mediterranean regions) and banana producers in Martinique. It lasted five years. At the end of it, we knew exactly what virtues banana oils retained, and their variations by variety. Subsequently, either I had a future in an industrial group or I started my own business. I did not hesitate for a long time. We have found authenticity and traditional knowledge to enrich with current knowledge.

What are the qualities of the banana oils that you use in your products?

Depending on the part of the plant and the type of banana used, different uses are possible. But banana oils, green, yellow or pink with purple skin, are more or less fat, and are full of various qualities depending on which one chooses: soothing, depigmenting, detoxifying, anti-aging … They are very rich in antioxidants (up to twenty times more than argan oil or olive oil, fifty times more than rose oil), DHEA, phytosterols … They are perfect for skins that are sensitive or allergic which need to be hydrated and soothed (eczema, psoriasis), they are restorative (burns, scars, stretch marks), detoxifying (antipollution, acne). All products of Kadalys start from this beautiful plant, the banana.

Why have these natural virtues remained so poorly known so far?

In fact, in Australia, banana molecules have always been used in medicine against eczema, psoriasis, scars, burns, age spots, acne, and so on. There, this medicine is not described as traditional, with all the suspicions of charlatanism or superstition that can be put there. For a long time in Cuba, the active ingredients of plants growing on the spot (like guava for example) have been exploited.

But in Martinique, this is explained by a rooting about in the history and culture of the Caribbean. At the time of slavery in France, the royal ordinance of 1736 forced every slave owner to plant 25 banana trees per slave and to give them the opportunity to cultivate them, to prevent them from starving. That’s why we learned to exploit everything in the banana, to the leaves for cooking or weaving hats, bags, and of course it has become the most important plant in our region! But on the other hand, traditional medicine was forbidden, from the period of slavery until 2011! We could not practice it or even write recipes on it, it was only passed on as through the family. No wonder I did not even know about the virtues of bananas until adulthood. It is the resilience of a people of a French department we are talking about here.

Why did you seek the One Voice label?

My mother has always been part of a strong environmental lobby on Martinique. On the water, the environment, animals, and I have always sympathetic. It’s common sense for me. It is important that my products are both organic, have no negative impact on animals, that even the packaging is thought of.

For me, the One Voice label reassures the consumer even more about my commitment and that of the brand. Yes, Kadalys makes wealth from waste, is based on the circular economy, and sustainable development, but that’s not enough to say this, it has to be proven. Many customers asked for an extra guarantee on our word. This label is a validation of absence of tests on animals. And the tiger of One Voice is an image that I like especially as it is voluntary and biting, it does not pity!

Pet shops? I refuse!

Pet shops? I refuse!
03.12.2018
France
Pet shops? I refuse!
Domestic animals

Are puppies and kittens’ products that can be sold in « glass containers » on the shelves of supermarkets? One Voice strongly protests against this live trade, especially as the shelters are already overflowing with loving animals. Time to Stop!

Under those neon lights, a life?

Like those fruits shipped too early on boats where they finish ripening before reaching the stalls, Tao was quickly ripped from his mother, barely weaned. Thrown in a plastic crate and stacked in a van, he was transported in the cold on the roads of Europe to end up being negotiated over in a yard of a pet shop in France. Tao is a Spitz, poor little thing from Poland, who is not a beautiful dog but his eyes shed a tear: it’s ideal. What of his papers, his health? In a pet shop, we will not always talk about lineage, family, care. If the « product » is enticing, you will even get best price for this little being, who is already damaged. But if Tao does not please everyone in his first few months, who knows what will happen become of him: recycled perhaps, like the others who are unsold? How do you say, putdown?

Tao

Attention, dangers …

Christmas is a dream period for pet shops. So many parents want a small living being which is so cute and fluffy at the foot of the Christmas tree to delight their children. It’s so convenient to go shopping, like in the toy department, and say, « Oh, I want that one! « , when coming across a sad looking ball of fur nestled in the synthetic straw… But finally, choosing a companion should not be as mechanical and cold as buying a beautifully packaged item! We are campaigning so that this type of trade, which is so easy, does not become a permanent feature…Yet this is the case, while so many animals are stray and exposed to diseases, mistreated or subjected to a systematic euthanasia program!

The refusal of pet shops is for One Voice a matter of principle. On the one hand, because all our partner shelters are overflowing with cats and dogs just waiting to be welcomed to a new home. Here at the shelters, they will not cost thousands of euros, they have been examined, treated, sterilized and everything will be explained as to their origins, with nothing to hide. Having already unravelled several illegal trafficking operations, we now know the living conditions, from birth to resale, animals are the victims here.

A juicy scandal

Yes, several shameful providers supply these young lives to these licensed sales, which are so badly regulated. The exact origin, certificates, history health? Labelled as offering companionship and indeed often at exorbitant prices, inaccurate information concerning essential points about who you will be sharing your life with. In pet shops, you don’t have to be so demanding… The pet market is such (almost 5 billion euros a year in France), including materials, toys and of course the food, the purchase of these animals is decisive and all for profit…

Refuse with us!

On the point of these sales, One Voice tracks the excesses of this juicy trade. And we have to say enough is enough, I refuse! Yes, I refuse to be a customer who feeds the system which exploits these canine mothers from past or future tragedies. The commercial life behind the shop window is unthinkable in regards to nature. In shelters, you will be carefully guided to a suitable future companion and not to go and buy a stuffed toy, with other stocks arriving soon… We fight for a truly protective status of animals, we investigate pet shops, perform legal actions and also rescues, fight against small ads and the real scammers. How then can they end up being nothing less than supermarket products? Help us defend them, starting by saying, you too: I refuse!

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Pictures: Jo-Anne McArthur/One Voice