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Wild animals in circuses, One Voice answers to the SNVEL

Wild animals in circuses, One Voice answers to the SNVEL
15.02.2018
Wild animals in circuses, One Voice answers to the SNVEL
Exploitation for shows

The One Voice association was questioned in a written forum by the National Union of Professional Veterinarians (SNVEL) published on February 8th, 2018 in la Dépêche Vétérinaire¹ (The veterinarian dispatch).

It is thus stated that the purpose of the One Voice Association’s approach, by seeking the opinions of the national veterinary authorities on the issue of the presence of wild animals in travelling circuses, The SNVEL would be opposed to this type of objection.

In this regard, the SNVEL states that it does not share the view that the presence of wild animals in the shows would necessarily be associated with mistreatment.

It is clear from the reading of this communiqué, SNVEL voluntarily avoided answering the specific question posed to it by the One Voice association, which is the presence of wild animals in travelling shows.

As a group of veterinarians and thus of animal health professionals, the union can hardly go against the opinions expressed by its own European and national authorities, by the zoos themselves, or by independent scientific experts.

The association One Voice is also curious to know the scientific criteria on which the SNVEL has based its opinion relating to the adaptation of a wild animal to this itinerant spectacle. Professors Jo Dornin, Steven Harris and Heather Pickett portray the life of animals in circuses as “lives that are not worth living”.

More worryingly still, the SNVEL declares itself opposed to this group of individuals belonging to that of the wild species in their natural environment, because of the threat that this group would pose to the wild species. They don’t even question the harmful consequences that such unnatural exhibitions can have in terms of public awareness and education.

One Voice therefore urges SNVEL to assume the responsibilities incumbent upon it in this fight for the preservation of species and the cessation of all forms of violence on these sentient beings and to the common heritage of our planet.

¹ « La brêve » – L’instantané N°41 du vendredi 9 Février 2018 de la Dépêche Vétérinaire

Photo credit Jo-Anne McArthur/One Voice

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Three abandoned dogs on a balcony finish by devouring each other, we press charges

Three abandoned dogs on a balcony finish by devouring each other, we press charges
15.02.2018
Three abandoned dogs on a balcony finish by devouring each other, we press charges
Domestic animals

Three dogs on the balcony, three cats in the apartment. A sick cat, all the dogs were starving. Their abusive humans, in the background illegal farming, let the worst happen: one of the dogs was attacked by the other two. He lost his life. Through the reporting of a neighbour and an association, the remaining animals were saved. One Voice sent its Zoe Cell to rescue the dogs and cats then lodged a complaint for acts of cruelty.

The gendarmes, warned by a neighbour, arrived in the middle of a dog fight and backed off, abandoning the animals. For a whole week after the incident, the animals remained at the mercy of the four human owners who had put them in this situation!

The association that had alerted us moved heaven and earth: insisting with the services of the DDPP, the City Hall and gendarmes, video footage and witnesses. All this in support, so that these animals could be removed as soon as possible before we warned the owners. The Amstaff Passion Association had enabled the intervention and removal of the animals.

This Thursday February 8^thin the morning, the five animals, all covered with fleas (a dog Cani Corso and a puppy crossed staff and Shar Pei, as well as three cats including a sick kitten), were saved. These poor animals have suffered a hellish ordeal: lack of care, undernourished, kept out in winter …we couldn’t paint a darker image. The videos that testify to this arouse in us anger and sadness, anger against these humans, sadness for the unbearable suffering endured by these animals.

It is more than likely that the dogs were used by the woman and the three men living in the apartment to secretly run a breeding and animal trafficking business. Maybe even these animals were stolen. The investigation will reveal this.

We will be in any case with them to obtain justice for the dog who lost his life, and for the other animals, pushed to the limits by these humans without mercy.

Adobe Stock illustration photo

It’s time to recognize the status of people and the rights of elephants

It’s time to recognize the status of people and the rights of elephants
12.02.2018
United States It’s time to recognize the status of people and the rights of elephants
Exploitation for shows

The first legal action of the Nonhuman Rights Project for elephant rights concerns the individual stories of Beulah, Karen, and Minnie: from the day that humans had snatched them from nature to the day they ended up in a traveling circus in Connecticut. But the procedure also concerns the centuries-old history of the possession of captive elephants. Here’s a summary, and how NhRP, with the help of One Voice who is leading the fight in France and working to change this.

For more than 200 years, Americans have held captive members of one of the most cognitive and emotionally complex animals: elephants.

In 1796, an elephant named Old Bet was imported from India to the United States, where it was purchased by Hackaliah Bailey, founder of Barnum & Bailey Circus. The main attraction, she will be transported across the country until her death, at 20, probably killed by a fanatic. At the time of her capture, she was two years old. She would have spent her days exploring India’s rainforests with other elephants, especially her mother, and then growing up and helping to ward off threats by assuming her responsibilities for the welfare of the herd.

Today, the life stories of nearly 300 captive elephants in the United States, and nearly 20,000 in the world, are not very different from those of Old Bet and the many other elephants who, faced with bullets and ankus, had no choice but to follow in her footsteps.

Elephants are not just objects

This is because elephants, like all non-human animals are not less legal “objects” than they were two decades after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. As elephant advocates have realized, the elephants’ own interests – their freedom in the first place – are not taken into account in the courts or in legislation, because currently, and for whatever reason, they have no legal rights. Under existing animal welfare laws, we can buy and sell them, deprive them of a social group, physically compel them to entertain us, transport them to any country to serve our interests, and expose them to concrete and steel enclosures that look nothing like their natural habitat.

The intelligence and sensitivity of elephants

Thanks, in particular to the long-term scientific study of the behaviour of elephants and their social groups, we know a great deal more about who they are: their self-awareness, problem solving skills and use of tools. They have their own identity, they remember the past and plan for the future, show empathy for other beings (not just other elephants), and mourn their dead – among other qualities and abilities. But our legal systems have not yet incorporated this level of knowledge we have of them.

An unprecedented action for elephants’ rights

On November 13th, the Nonhuman Rights Project filed the first-ever petition for a writ of Habeas Corpus for captive elephants. Our elephant clients are Beulah, Karen and Minnie, who have worked for decades in circuses and traveling fairs and are currently held captive by the Connecticut Commerford Zoo.

Armed with legal arguments and affidavits carefully crafted by prominent elephant scientists, we are asking the Connecticut common law courts to recognize the non-human legal personality of Beulah, Karen and Minnie and the fundamental right to freedom of as self-aware and autonomous beings and as such, to order their immediate release into a suitable sanctuary. The Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), respected around the world, has already agreed to offer them a place in a sanctuary upon release.

Our depositors include:

Lucy Bates (Honorary Researcher, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews)
Richard Byrne (Research Professor, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Development, University of St Andrews)
Ed Stewart (President and Co-Founder, Performing Animal Welfare Society)
Karen McComb (Professor of Animal Behaviour and Cognition, University of Sussex)
Dr. Cynthia Moss, (Program and Trust Director, Amboseli Trust for Elephants)
Joyce Poole (Co-Founder and Co-Director, Elephant Voices).

Added to the selection of affidavits is the video ethnography belonging to experts on wild elephants, to reinforce the injustice that deprives our clients of their physical freedom.

For the recognition of the fundamental rights of all elephants

Like Old Bet, Beulah, Karen and Minnie have spent most of their lives entertaining humans. But their stories must not end like hers. As potentially the first elephants to have legally recognized basic rights, they could even allow other elephants to follow in their footsteps – not in a circus tent or zoo, but in a sanctuary where their abilities and rights to live independently will be respected and encouraged.

One Voice is collaborating with the NonHuman Rights Project. This publication is a translation of Lauren Choplin’s article.

Nosey, the elephant finally free from the circus

Nosey, the elephant finally free from the circus
10.02.2018
United States Nosey, the elephant finally free from the circus
Exploitation for shows

The final judgment fell Wednesday January 23rd 2018, after decades of exploitation by a circus, Nosey, the 35 year old Africa elephant for which several animal welfare associations have been fighting for since 2004 is finally safe.

In early November, an Alabama judge decided to entrust Nosey to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, the largest sanctuary in the United States for elephants. It is now official, Nosey will be able to stay there, finally free to move as it sees fit, to rest, at its own pace, according to its choices, in the company of other elephants, and in a vast natural space.

Nosey’s former owners are accused of cruelty and negligence. They have just appealed against the judgment against them.

The fight for Nosey has been long, 14 years! However, there has been no lack of evidence: malnutrition, dehydration, stereotypy, skin infections, osteoarthritis … Nosey was also shackled and forced to stand in her own body waste, a potential source of serious infection.

The appalling living conditions suffered by Nosey are reminiscent of what we know about Maya. “The chain that’s shackled to her feet causing leg pains, unable to walk, and forced to stay in one place in her own droppings, the front legs positioned under her body and the need to lean against things to relieve the pressure on the feet, this type of constant swaying headshaking … her emaciated head and body, poor access to water, a truck without light…”

Petitions, gatherings, complaints, reports, photos, videos, the search for personalities to plead her cause to the elected officials, a campaign of tweets for her … everything that has been done for Nosey is being done for Maya, the same as we also do for Jumbo, Lechmee, Mina, Kamala, and for all the other animals that are exhibited, transported, exploited, stressed by this way of life which is forced on them and is not suitable for their well-being and the needs of their species.

This victory for Nosey makes us extremely happy. To see it now free only reinforces our determination so that these animals held in the circuses in France are released to sanctuaries, and that they can also taste freedom which is due to them.

Japan wants to kill more whales!

Japan wants to kill more whales!
09.02.2018
Japan
Japan wants to kill more whales!
Wildlife

Shinzo Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister, revives the controversy on whaling. By advocating commercial fishing and allocating new credits, the Japanese government leader defies the international community.

Recently, in response to a parliamentary question on whaling, the Japanese head of government unveiled a real battery of harpoons … Shinzo Abe has indeed announced morecetacean specimens for commercial purposes and direct support to the fleet of Japanese whaling ships, in particular to replace or renovate her flagship, the Nisshin Maru.

Doubletalk

We know that whaling has never really stopped in the land of the rising sun. In 2014, the International Court of Justice ordered the archipelago to end its regular hunting campaigns in the waters of Antarctica. Repeatedly called to order by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), Japan continued this activity under the guise of fishing for scientific purposes, while being a signatory for the moratorium on hunting. This doubletalk has fizzled out: Japan now asserts its right to commercial fishing for cetaceans, even if they are already in danger.

By responding favourably to the demands of Japan’s Fisheries Agency headed by Takato Maki, the prime minister is adopting a nationalist stance that defies the international community and all environmental NGOs. A sitting position on the traditional aspect of this type of fishing, flattering the conservative electorate of Shinzo Abe.

A real battle of the sea

The Japanese whaling fleet is large, very well equipped, including military-grade satellites. Very committed to the surveillance of these activities, the NGO Sea Shepherd, struggles to intervene with its own fleet in the immensity of the Southern Ocean. In the Australian Whale Sanctuary, where all whaling is prohibited, Japanese factory ships harvest Minke whales, of which 333 are killed each year in the name of a “science”. No one can account for it exactly.

If the Australian government, the first concerned by the integrity of its territorial waters, seems conciliatory with one of its major economic partners in the region, the position of the Japanese government generates a public outcry, and promises serious discussions in future negotiations of the IWC next September.

This naval battle on the outer reaches of the planet is endangering thousands of cetaceans, who are all already in danger, and threatening the global ecosystems. One Voice also strongly condemns the Japanese government’s position of identity, a country where the whale is no longer such a popular dish and the defence of the environment is progressing.

One Voice summoned to a tribunal by the circus who wants to take away the right to defend the elephant Maya

One Voice summoned to a tribunal by the circus who wants to take away the right to defend the elephant Maya
08.02.2018
One Voice summoned to a tribunal by the circus who wants to take away the right to defend the elephant Maya
Exploitation for shows

The circus that is holding and exploiting the elephant Maya urgently summons One Voice, arguing the case of a damaged reputation and drop in attendance. On February 13^th, 2018 at 1:30 pm the hearing will take place at the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Strasbourg. By this procedure, the circus hopes to prevent One Voice from continuing to publicly defend Maya. However, it is part of the mission of the association to show its suffering, which is not going to be abandoned.

The circus wants to forbid One Voice from speaking and acting on behalf of Maya. Their wish: to silence her defenders. As for the circus, Maya is “in perfect health.”

This family therefore requires the removal of the #JusticePourMaya (Justice for Maya) petition signed by more than 115,000 people, as well as all Facebook articles, tweets and publications from the One Voice websites and pages. Thus, any use of photographs of Maya -taken by the association-, leaflets or signs talking about her would not be allowed anymore.

They have even demanded the court to ban One Voice from organizing demonstrations or rallies for her.

The demands of this private enterprise are almost limitless, as they go so far as to force the animal rights society as an act of contrition by demanding a public apology.

Under the pretext of an alleged loss of profit, and a loss of image, the circus wants to continue to exploit this elephant captured in Asia and held captivity for more than 40 years, and is clearly suffering. Her incessant repetitive swinging should have alerted her “keepers”, also, her deformed posture does not match that of a healthy elephant and her emaciated body is not just a sign of old age.

Muriel Arnal, president-founder of One Voice is shocked by such requests:

“Maya has not been seen alive since November by our investigators who have searched everywhere, and now the circus dares to attack us.” In order to know that she is alive, our lawyer contacted the circus whose only answer was that the owner was not allowed by his clients to give us news. Today our concern is deeply worrying. Is Maya still alive? If she is doing so well as the circus claims, why are they hiding her? We will eventually find out the truth, and those responsible will have to answer for what happened to her.”

Carte des cirques sans animaux

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Maya: The circus puts One Voice on trial and refuses to give any proof of life

Maya: The circus puts One Voice on trial and refuses to give any proof of life
08.02.2018
Lot-et-Garonne
Maya: The circus puts One Voice on trial and refuses to give any proof of life
Exploitation for shows

Maya has not been seen alive since November by our investigators. To dispel the fears and the rumour which has arisen, our lawyer contacted those of the circus: without reply! No return on her state of health or her state of wellbeing… Today, our concern is immense.

The circus that owns and exploits Maya is suing us for losses on Tuesday 13th of February 2018 at 13:30 at the Tribunal de Grande Instance Strasbourg, claiming damage to their reputation and poor public attendance. They want to prevent us from continuing to publicly defend this elephant that is in great suffering.

They are charging us with a lawsuit, and they do not want to give any proof that Maya is alive!

We fear that she died during those long weeks when the circus had disappeared. Did he hide himself away so that we could no longer observe him and his circus, and to leave Maya in agonizing agony without us being able to raise the alarm? We have to know because we will continue to demand justice for her. Those responsible for her ordeal will not go unpunished. Our complaint for acts of cruelty is being investigated, and in January we sent additional information to the authorities in charge of Maya’s case.

But we have to know where she is. We are in regular contact with the prefecture who decided to send an expert specialized in elephants to see Maya. But how can you do this without being able to find her? We ask you to write courteously to the prefect of Lot et Garonne, the guarantor to the welfare of animals living in its territory, to inform him of the anxiety that assails us concerning Maya. Is she dead? Did they hide her? In what conditions does she live now? Where is she? Is she even in France? Has she finished her days in the frozen loneliness of her transport trailer?

Thank you for your mobilization. For Maya and for all the circus slaves, our anger and our tears are immeasurable but we will not let this dampen our fighting spirit!

Twitter : @Prefet47
By mail: Mrs. Patricia WILLAERT, Lot-et-Garonne Prefecture, Place Verdun, 47920 Agen

Lynching and crucifixion, a night of horror for Janeiro

Lynching and crucifixion, a night of horror for Janeiro
07.02.2018
Eure-et-Loire
Lynching and crucifixion, a night of horror for Janeiro
Domestic animals

On the night of January 31st to February 1, Janeiro, an adorable red cat suffered unthinkable violence. He came out alive, but lost a paw. One Voice presses charges against a person not named for acts of cruelty towards a domestic animal with the public prosecutor of Chartres.

Thursday morning, his human companion, surprised not to see him appear at the call of his name at the time of giving him food, went looking for him to make sure everything was fine for his little friend. Suddenly, Janeiro’s cries of distress were heard, recognizing the familiar voice. Was he locked up somewhere? No, it was much worse!

On the building site of a house under construction, he saw his cat, hooked on a fence, his legs spread, screaming in pain. He had not got stuck on the fence by accident: his front right paw was crushed horribly, fixed by wire that had pierced her.

Shocked by the unprecedented violence Janeiro had suffered, he immediately took her to the vet. The vet, to allow the poor cat to survive had to carry out the amputation of his right front paw. In all likelihood, moreover he was kicked in the stomach or in the ribs. After a few days of observation at the vet’s surgery, he is now courageously recovering his emotions.

Similar cases have been reported in the Dreux sector. This kind of violence on cats is far too common. It is essential that they do not remain unpunished, so as not to be considered trivial or without consequences! To attack a domestic animal is a crime, which can be punished with a prison sentence! Our Cell Zoe will go to trial to get justice for him.

An outcry for the rats: Paris may be eternal but Paris is cruel!

An outcry for the rats: Paris may be eternal but Paris is cruel!
06.02.2018
Paris An outcry for the rats: Paris may be eternal but Paris is cruel!
Wildlife

Eradication! While several factors explain the increased visibility of rats in some parts of the capital, the Paris’ mayor’s office is sinking into empty gestures, ineffective and cruel measures, to always appear squeaky clean. The animals that populate the city since its creation would no longer have rights to exist? A shameful and pointless demonization.

It is a media-crazed TV and social networks coverage aimed at reminding people about the action plan against rats implemented by the City of Paris. Tourists, dustmen, residents … All the possible fears and fantasies are heard to give credibility to the message: proliferation equals eradication. Being under stress allows misinterpretation of these problems and presents this to the public as a lifesaving action when it is outdated. Delirious and prompt measures like these despicable “rat guillotines” are billed on a monthly basis and which by eradicating a few rodents will claim the “problem” is solved.

Where is the problem?

Rats have populated Paris since its creation. These social, mobile and very intelligent rodents are in fact our commensal partners: they live, drink, reproduce but in proportion to the opportunities of their environment. In all cities, by their underground life, rarely terrestrial by day and in direct contact with humans, they are present. And useful for cleaning rubbish left here or there by those who point the finger.

Health risk, visual discomfort, fears, phobia? The aesthetics of the politicians is very much alive, in these days of rising waters, in a context of cosmetics for tourists and soon to come Olympic Games. Tomorrow, it will be cats, victims of abandonment, which will have to be removed from the public landscape. One Voice rebels!

As an expert pointed out, these urban rats are not inevitably more numerous, they are simply more in view because of factors disturbing their environment … natural. To warn, to cry out on animal populations that are self-regulating, without managing the real problems (floods, management of canals and waste), are short-sighted rantings.

To pretend to eradicate rats from a city like Paris is nonsense. The committed budgets represent, on the proposed axes, an incredible waste that is reminiscent of some reports … But above all, on the part of elected officials concerned with respect for animal life, it is an easy and deadly bias, in short, it is disgusting.

One Voice invites everyone to take the measure of the level of intelligence and social skills of these rodents that are so vilified. Paris has already sought to relegate rats as harmful and also dedicating them to animal experimentation. Please, a little respect is indeed!

Madame Hidalgo, nobody believes in your ability to eradicate rats from Paris, if so needed. Clean the garbage in front of your own door, or ours, and you will see that the rats, without even the sound of your pipe, will be more discreet. #Pest #Cruelty

Eco volunteers diverted in favour of the trophy hunting of big cats

Eco volunteers diverted in favour of the trophy hunting of big cats
02.02.2018
South Africa
Eco volunteers diverted in favour of the trophy hunting of big cats
Wildlife

Take action against living in a world without lions? This type of action is commendable. Opt for eco-volunteering on farms, feed and cuddle wild animals thinking that you are contributing to the protection of wild animals? One Voice has investigated this subject and permits itself to doubt this. The association shows you how a good intention can be diverted and used to assist a lucrative and horrifying business: The development of wild animal farms and trophy hunting in South Africa.

Eco-volunteering: The beautiful promise of wild animal farms

According to an article in The Guardian, 160 wildlife farms are registered in South Africa and legally invite for money lovers of wild animals to contribute to the protection of the wildlife and to the preservation of genetic diversity. Their mission? Feed and cuddle lion cubs or other baby animals whose mothers are no longer able to do so for lack of milk. Visitors are invited to feed the new-borns by hand, to cuddle them and why not. And the opportunity to have the moment immortalized by a professional photographer. Walks are organized in the company of big cats aged 5 to 6 years old who have been reintroduced to a reserve. The program seems enticing and everything suggests that wild beasts are the kings of the savannah. Yet the reality is quite different!

But behind the scenes: cruel treatment and living conditions for the big cats

One Voice leads a daily nonviolent struggle for animal rights and the respect for all life, which is why the association investigated these businesses internally in 2015, the investigation only draws a sad picture which is shared by other associations.

Delivered to the visitor farms, the little ones find themselves in cages, stressed by the permanent contact from the volunteers. All this to sell a magical interaction with the public and hide the angst of the new-borns, the employees use several deplorable practices towards these young animals. They blow on their faces to prevent them from crying out, throw them in the air to stun them or simply drug them so that they do not wander back and forth in the cage; this being typical behaviour of stressed animals.

Reserves on the other hand are only enclosed spaces which are small in size and where animals are tranquilized with drugs to enable walks with volunteers. Let’s be clear on this, after spending the first years of their lives being cuddled and in contact with man, it is obvious that the return to the wildlife is impossible. Yet, to justify the existence of these farms, the opposite is asserted.

Farms: a supply of wild animals for trophy hunts

If the business of the farmers paid and they could be self-sufficient, then maintaining this is a real issue for the development of trophy hunting: these structures constitute a continual pool of wild animals ready to be slaughtered. Big cats are taken a few days before the hunt and put in an enclosed space that they cannot escape from. This practice, better known as “canned hunting”, inevitably signifies the death sentence of the animal. In 2006, 1,830 trophies were exported from South Africa, 4,062 in 2016, most of which came from capture sites.

It is time to boycott this type of structure and to move towards ethical eco-volunteering and doing something useful for animals. After the survey conducted by One Voice, Guidisto, an eco-volunteering portal has withdrawn all missions offering direct contact with big cats and directs users to volunteer to observe animals in their natural environment as well as participating in the protection of their habitat.