News Archive - Page 109 of 148

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

Justice has been made for foxes, a landmark decision

Justice has been made for foxes, a landmark decision
30.11.2018
Nancy
Justice has been made for foxes, a landmark decision
Wildlife

Wednesday November 28th a hearing was held by the Prefectural for the interim suspension of the from Meurthe-et-Moselle, authorizing the night shooting on 500 foxes in the last three months of 2018. The decision of the court is in the favour of the foxes. An exemplary decision. Even if a hundred of them have, despite this verdict, have already been massacred at night in Meurthe-et-Moselle this fall, fortunately this is not the original five hundred wanted by the local federation of hunters who had almost guided the Prefect’s hand in creating the text.

Time was running out

One Voice acted very quickly to present the technical and legal arguments to the judge. The time was running out, the decree was in place, the foxes were being killed every night…

We were there to defend the foxes, restore their reputation and fight the false arguments of the hunters. By the admission of the representative of the prefecture, the decree was published at their request, and motivated according to their argument. In Meurthe-et-Moselle as often, federations of hunters carry strong political weight, and do almost what they want with nature, with the approval from the public authorities. This state of affairs has become unbearable for the population, which is becoming more and more aware of the reality, namely the alarming state of the biodiversity, which is constantly being harmed. This has been proven by the presence of several citizens, who came to attend the hearing on their own initiative, which is not always the case. Like a subliminal reminder to 90% of the opinions given during the public consultation that were opposed to this decree.

Red foxes are important individuals to the biodiversity!

We have reminded the representative of the Prefecture and the judge that foxes, even before constituting them as a species, who are a multitude of living individuals. Each of whom has a desire to live for themselves. Their usefulness for biodiversity has also been underlined by our lawyer for those who today still refuse to take into account their sensitivity, and their intrinsic worth into consideration.

The animals of our countryside are part of the common heritage of the nation. As such, foxes must be protected. They are hunted down, sometimes as game and sometimes as pests likely to cause damage, which makes them vulnerable to shooting, traps that kill and unearthing from their homes … all year round, at least 2 % of our national population. More than half a million of them are massacred annually, more than 6,000 in Meurthe-et-Moselle alone. However, foxes are also and above all likely to bring benefits! The fox’s natural regulation of the vole population in the fields prevents both Lyme disease from spreading and the need to spray the fields with chemical pesticides. A very important role in biodiversity.

An exceptional audience in Nancy

During the hearing, the Prefecture’s defence went on about approximations, absurdities and even errors, unable to say how many foxes had already been shot at night since early October, arguing that the more foxes killed is a sign that their population is increasing, and counting only two months instead of three for the validity of the decree…

The collusion of the hunting world with the representatives from the State is worrying. Their arguments are that there would not be enough hares or partridges to kill in the pursuit of their deadly and bloody hobby… in short, a question of competition. But neither the local federation of hunters nor the Prefecture have been able to prove the figures in the increase of the population of red foxes. Either that of the decrease in the population of the partridges and hares (which were not even mentioned at the hearing) that they seek to « regulate » with their shot gun cartridges. Perhaps we should rather look at the decline of the natural spaces around France which have been affected by urbanization or that of intensive agriculture … Moreover, it is now scientifically proven that the fox population does in fact self-regulate.

This decree is the last in a long series, the surrounding departments in the North and East of the country having decided not to resort to it, after losing or giving up against One Voice and its partners on all previous occasions! During the proceedings, our lawyer also represented the associations ASPAS, Flore 54 and GEML who also attacked this decree.

This victory date will mark a milestone!

We can only rejoice that once again justice restores the damage done to foxes, and enforce what the population expects of its public authorities. We continue our fight for them everywhere in France, and we will support this decision of justice, exemplary, thanks to our suspension because it takes place before the end of the decree, which is exceptional.

To give us all your support in this fight at the national level, please sign our petition for red foxes (with Anymal and ASPAS). They must be removed from this revolting list called « pests ».

Kiska, Ontario’s Latest MarineLand Orca

Kiska, Ontario’s Latest MarineLand Orca
29.11.2018
Ontario
Kiska, Ontario’s Latest MarineLand Orca
Exploitation for shows

Emaciated, toothless, isolated for 7 years at MarineLand in Canada, Kiska lost her five children, her companion and her friend. The brain gnawed by memories, she gradually immerses herself into madness. One Voice calls for its immediate handling and transfer to the closed bay of the Whale Sanctuary Project, which will be operational next year.

The whole world was able to watch the live drama unfold of the orca Tahlequah for weeks during the death of her new-born baby.

And the whole world has been able to understand that for orcas too, losing a child is an atrocious event. But around this desperate mother, a whole tribe gathered to feed her and share her pain by carrying her baby. Kiska had to face alone each of the bereavements that hit her.

It all started well though.

Kiska was born free in Iceland, in a small community of killer whales’ expert in sardine hunting. Like so many others, she was kidnapped in 1979 off Ingolfshofdi and found herself in the filthy pools of the Saedyrasafnid Aquarium along with King, Caren, and an unnamed female. All were waiting to be delivered body and soul to their various buyers. Kiska was sent to MarineLand of Canada, while her misfortunate companions left for Japan, where they died quickly. In the early 1980s, three unfortunate orcas were captured in the same Icelandic waters. Nootka V, Kandu VII, and Junior shared with Kiska the King Waldorf Theater Pool, one of the three sordid buildings where MarineLand shuts up its orcas, along with Friendship Cove and the sinister Warehouse.

Kandu did what was expected of her.

On August 24^th, 1992, Kiska gave birth to her first child, a small male registered as MLC-OO-B9202. He drowned 62 days later. Her second boy was Kanuk. Born in August 1994, he was passionately pampered by Kiska, who was very worried that she would see him die. MarineLand, however, decided to transfer it to the Warehouse. The Canadian park then decided to store in these dark and poorly ventilated pools dolphins in a bad condition too poorly to be exhibited, old walruses at the end of their career and juvenile orcas separated from their mother.

It was there that Junior, considered too slow during his training apprenticeship, waited in vain for a buyer, until he died after several years, exhausted with despair and loneliness. Kanuk did not support being the Warehouse better than Junior. There he died of suffocation under that same roof, his airhole blocked by candidiasis. He was only four years old. Nova, the third child of Kiska, was born in good health on November 6^th1996. He was also placed in the Warehouse, and finally returned to his mother. Not for long, alas, because of a case of rampant pneumonia which prevailed as early as August 2001.

Hudson, the last son of Kiska, was born in September 1998.

As he lived longer than the others, his mother, still weeping, became very much attached to him. Despite his early age, Hudson had been trained to give his sperm for future inseminations. He did not leave behind any samples that MarineLand could sell. He was often seen playing with Algonquin, Nootka’s son, but he died in 2002. In August 2004, Kiska gave him a little sister named Athena. Hudson had little opportunity to share his games with her, since a meningitis got the better of him in October that same year … And Kiska’s mourning only got worse.

Kandu died of malignant cancer during Christmas Eve in 2005.

Nootka then joined Kiska and her daughter Athena, whom she tried desperately to steal from her mother. One can understand her: she had just lost the last of her eight children and her sanity was beginning to waver. In 2006, Marineland obtained from SeaWorld a « reproductive loan » in the form of a 4-year-old male killer whale named Ikaika. Ike spent some time in good relations with Kiska, Athena and the sad Nootka, until she died without a known reason two years later. The very young Athena then followed her into the great mass grave under the lawns of MarineLand in the spring of 2009, killed according to the park by a generalized infection. Ikaika was Kiska’s last companion, but as he grew older, he harassed her more and more. In 2011, after a long legal battle, the impetuous breeder was returned to the San Diego SeaWorld, who were fearful for his health, given these series of deaths.

Kiska was left alone in the Friendship Cove pool, where only ghosts were swimming.

Kanuk, Nova, Hudson, Athena … It’s not just the single corpse of an infant that she pushes in front of her in the black waters of her madness, but five bodies at a time! How was such a massacre possible? Why did no one react? The answer may be delivered to us one day from Canadian justice. In the immediate future, the urgency is still there: we must save Kiska right away! Sixteen orcas have died in the hell of MarineLand of Ontario. Do not let Kiska become the seventeenth!