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Wounded wolf in the Saône-et-Loire region: no to his slaughter

Wounded wolf in the Saône-et-Loire region: no to his slaughter

Wounded wolf in the Saône-et-Loire region: no to his slaughter
03.09.2024
Wounded wolf in the Saône-et-Loire region: no to his slaughter
Wildlife

Morey, Saône-et-Loire, on the night of December 4, 2023: the department’s only remaining wolf has been wounded by a shot in his thigh after days of relentless pursuit. Since then, he has survived as best he could, on three legs. Unable as he is to jump, it would be enough to install fences, electrified nets or dogs to protect the herds. However, the farmers refuse to accept this solution, preferring to whine in the media, with the support of the prefecture, which has summoned the “wolf brigade” to shoot the wounded wolf. We ask that he not be killed and that he be entrusted to us for safekeeping in our sanctuary in Italy, where several rescued wolves already live.

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Prefecture encourages slaughter

Back in the department since 2019, the wolves were all shot one after the other in 2020, 2021 and 2023. The last surviving wolf was shot last December. He has since survived with a bullet in his posterior, which prevents him from moving properly, greatly limiting his movements and ability to feed. But today, his days are numbered. The “wolf brigade” has been on the spot with great fanfare since the beginning of August to kill an already crippled animal.

Farmers oppose protection

Crippled, this lame wolf is looking for an easy way to feed and survive: livestock left unattended. For their part, farmers make no secret of the fact: they want the wolf dead. Protect their herd? That’s out of the question. For Emilie Magnin, a breeder at the bergerie de la Saugerie in Villeneuve-en-Montagne, protecting her ewes is too unpleasant: “To request a simple defense shot, the animals have to be protected, either in protective nets, where there’s little room to move, or by an electrified fence. The latter is a restrictive solution, as maintenance requires a lot of work. It delays our breeding activity. Asking for simple defense shooting is just one constraint after another, to fit into boxes”. Even though farmers receive subsidies to protect their animals.

The solution? Leave the sheep unguarded and unprotected, cry to the press when it’s too late, and demand that wolves be exterminated in the department.

We urge the authorities in Saône-et-Loire to put an end to this stalking and impose protection for the flocks. We are ready to take this wolf into our care and transfer him to our sanctuary in Italy, where he can live in complete safety, along with other survivors.

Sign to demand an end to the persecution of wolves, so that they can finally live in peace. Sign to demand an end to the persecution of wolves, so that they can finally live in peace. Sign to demand an end to the persecution of wolves, so that they can finally live in peace. Sign to demand an end to the persecution of wolves, so that they can finally live in peace. Sign to demand an end to the persecution of wolves, so that they can finally live in peace. Sign to demand an end to the persecution of wolves, so that they can finally live in peace. Sign to demand an end to the persecution of wolves, so that they can finally live in peace. Sign to demand an end to the persecution of wolves, so that they can finally live in peace. Sign to demand an end to the persecution of wolves, so that they can finally live in peace. Sign to demand an end to the persecution of wolves, so that they can finally live in peace.

Investigation: pigs under the scalpel at the CICE in Clermont-Ferrand

Investigation: pigs under the scalpel at the CICE in Clermont-Ferrand

Investigation: pigs under the scalpel at the CICE in Clermont-Ferrand
29.08.2024
Investigation: pigs under the scalpel at the CICE in Clermont-Ferrand
Animal testing

Revelations by One Voice and Camp Beagle Gannat about the origin, transport and use of piglets raised in battery cages by the Clermont-Ferrand International Center for Endoscopic Surgery, adjacent to the hospital. One Voice is taking legal action.

The International Center for Endoscopic Surgery (CICE) in Clermont-Ferrand is world-renowned for its training courses for doctors. What is less well known are the experiments carried out on very young pigs there, when it is possible to do things differently.

Camp Beagle Gannat alerted us to the fate of these animals, and together we investigated further. After a year’s investigation, images from whistle-blowers and our own investigators expose the “production chain”, the brutal and substandard transport, and the total lack of consideration shown to the little pigs by the trainers and staff at CICE. All these atrocities for a training program that should employ the latest techniques, as laid down in animal experimentation legislation.

We are filing a complaint against Guy Farm, calling for it to be closed down, and initiating proceedings against the CICE to replace animal experimentation with other methods.

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For more than fifteen years, the CICE has been sourcing its “guinea pigs” from Guy Farm, located some thirty kilometers away, a squalid battery farm where mistreatment and irregularities are the norm.

A very “natural” farm

Guy Farm portrays a bucolic image: rental space for camping close to nature, photos of young cows outdoors, GMO-free family breeding…

Behind the walls, however, sows are parked in cages where they cannot move. Impossible for them to take the slightest step, if only to avoid crushing their young.

Factory farming is legal. What is less so is the astronomical neonatal mortality rate, the practice of veterinary medicine by the farmer himself, and the acts of violence perpetrated on both adult and newborn animals.

When sows worn out by repeated farrowings are injured, they are not treated properly. For example, after one sow has prolapsed, the farmer grabs her organs with his hands, shoves them inside her body and sews up her genitals. These acts are totally illegal and reserved for veterinarians. The added bonus of this “natural farm” is undoubtedly the “homemade” aspect.

In the days following the births, the corpses pile up. There are piglets born already dead, barely formed. Those crushed under their mother, trapped between metal bars and unable to avoid them. Those deemed too puny who end up with their skulls smashed against a fence, a wall or the ground, convulsing for a long time before dying.

Battery farming is a lucrative industry, and the farmer won’t be the one denying it.

I produced 5,000 pigs a year. In the years when I did the most pigs, I made more money. Those were perhaps the years when I lost the most money by the way. 5,000 pigs, you lost 10 euros per pig, you lost…”, ‘Right now 5,000 pigs, would that be worth it? 5,000 pigs’, ”oh yeah, right now, you’re making 250,000 euros. You earn 250,000 euros in a year, I work 4 years, you say ‘I quit’”. generics.video.play

Those who survive are quickly separated from their mother, crammed together in the dark to be fattened up and sent to the slaughterhouse… or to the CICE.

A means of transport as disrespectful of animals as it is of regulations

When it’s time for transport to the center, the little pigs are grabbed by their hind legs or ears and thrown into skips inside the CICE employee’s truck. Once in the parking lot, those who try to escape are quickly caught…

generics.video.play Sign so that the CICE in Clermont-Ferrand puts an end to the experimentation and killing of animals during its training courses Sign so that the CICE in Clermont-Ferrand puts an end to the experimentation and killing of animals during its training courses Sign so that the CICE in Clermont-Ferrand puts an end to the experimentation and killing of animals during its training courses Sign so that the CICE in Clermont-Ferrand puts an end to the experimentation and killing of animals during its training courses Sign so that the CICE in Clermont-Ferrand puts an end to the experimentation and killing of animals during its training courses Sign so that the CICE in Clermont-Ferrand puts an end to the experimentation and killing of animals during its training courses Sign so that the CICE in Clermont-Ferrand puts an end to the experimentation and killing of animals during its training courses Sign so that the CICE in Clermont-Ferrand puts an end to the experimentation and killing of animals during its training courses Sign so that the CICE in Clermont-Ferrand puts an end to the experimentation and killing of animals during its training courses Sign so that the CICE in Clermont-Ferrand puts an end to the experimentation and killing of animals during its training courses

At the CICE, mutilation and death await them… before the garbage can

Once inside the building, they are anesthetized to serve as living tools for students and doctors, and undergo hysterectomies, nephrectomies, sutures… They won’t wake up. At the end of the day, piglets just a few weeks old end up the same way they arrived: in a skip.

Alternative methods do exist

Today, experimentation on animals for teaching purposes is no longer necessary. Other techniques exist: pelvi-trainers, cell cultures, tissue cultures, organoids on a chip, stem cell cultures, audio-visual aids, apprenticeships and observation with teaching doctors throughout the curriculum… It is no longer acceptable to breed and kill animals for “training”.

Doctor Jérôme Soubielle, who has already spoken publicly on the subject of medical training, confirms:

“There are other supports [that exist] for the certification of this training: the pelvi-trainer and the suture device. […] It’s completely appalling to see this nowadays. I’m not talking about a few years ago, but these days there’s no point. You can train theoretically on audio-video aids, you can train with people who know how to do it on real patients, you can go to the operating theatre, you can go to anatomy laboratories to study anatomy on cadavers. Operating on a pig doesn’t make you a surgeon… Doing a nerve block on a pig doesn’t make you an anesthetist. It’s really something that’s aberrant.”

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Animal experimentation regulations are clear: if alternative methods exist, they must be used instead of animal models.

“Performing surgery […] on a pig doesn’t guarantee the validity of the training, and it’s useless.”

Dr Jérôme Soubielle, anesthesiologist.

generics.video.play Sign for the closure of the farm that supplies the CICE with pigs for experimentation Sign for the closure of the farm that supplies the CICE with pigs for experimentation Sign for the closure of the farm that supplies the CICE with pigs for experimentation Sign for the closure of the farm that supplies the CICE with pigs for experimentation Sign for the closure of the farm that supplies the CICE with pigs for experimentation Sign for the closure of the farm that supplies the CICE with pigs for experimentation Sign for the closure of the farm that supplies the CICE with pigs for experimentation Sign for the closure of the farm that supplies the CICE with pigs for experimentation Sign for the closure of the farm that supplies the CICE with pigs for experimentation Sign for the closure of the farm that supplies the CICE with pigs for experimentation

In the face of this institutionalized mistreatment, we have filed a complaint against the breeder and are taking legal action against the CICE.

Join our fight against animal experimentation. Write to the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MESR) to ask it to fund alternative methods, as our European neighbors are doing. Sign our petitions for an end to the use of animals by the CICE and the closure of Guy Farm.

To find out more about pigs and who they are, see our sentience fact sheet.

And for an overview of experiments on pigs recently validated by the MESR, read our article.

The Ariège prefecture persists: new decree to scare away bears on the Trapech summer pasture. Petition for protection of fundamental liberties filed

The Ariège prefecture persists: new decree to scare away bears on the Trapech summer pasture. Petition for protection of fundamental liberties filed

The Ariège prefecture persists: new decree to scare away bears on the Trapech summer pasture. Petition for protection of fundamental liberties filed
26.08.2024
The Ariège prefecture persists: new decree to scare away bears on the Trapech summer pasture. Petition for protection of fundamental liberties filed
Wildlife

The Ariège prefecture has issued a new decree authorizing scare shots on Trapech summer pasture. This time, the operations are to take place during the nights of August 27-29, with agents from the French Office for Biodiversity equipped with 12-gauge shotguns loaded with double-detonation cartridges. These measures have raised serious concerns about their impact on this protected and vulnerable species. As is often the case, the decree was unveiled at the last minute, limiting the scope for appeal. However, we reacted quickly and filed a petition for protection of fundamental liberties, for which a decision is expected within 48 hours. The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday August 27 at 2:00 pm at the Toulouse Administrative Court.

A new hard blow for bears in Ariège

Just a few days apart, the Ariège prefecture has published a second decree authorizing the scaring of bears on the same summer pasture : Trapech. We immediately challenged the first decree, published at the beginning of August. Even though the court rejected our arguments, we are not letting our guard down and are continuing the fight. As no details or tangible proof of supposed damage caused by the bears have again been provided, we have decided to attack!

These shooting operations take place in the middle of the breeding season and are therefore particularly dangerous for female bears and their offspring. The stress they cause can have disastrous consequences for their health and behavior. In the end, the French government decided to reintroduce bears into its mountains in order to tyrannize them, taking them away from their families and forests thousands of kilometers away.

The State must stop harassing bears

The measures taken by the authorities show a real relentlessness. These animals, which are supposed to be protected, are already facing multiple poaching threats: poisoning, trapping, shooting… Now they are also regularly subjected to scare shots.

The hearing against this new decree will be held tomorrow August 27 at 2:00 pm at the Toulouse Administrative Court. So that the bears can finally live in peace, join us in calling for an end to scare tactics: sign our petition.

Tens of thousands of animals are still used to train students and professionals.

Tens of thousands of animals are still used to train students and professionals.

Tens of thousands of animals are still used to train students and professionals. 26.08.2024
Tens of thousands of animals are still used to train students and professionals. Animal testing

Every year, the authorities allow thousands of animals to be experimented on by staff members for training purposes. Training “tools” for students and professionals, dogs, monkeys, pigs, mice, rats and fish are subjected to numerous painful procedures. Join us in demanding a halt to these projects – write to the Ministry !

In 2021, 34,460 animals were used in these learning projects. The aims are manifold: to train doctors and veterinary surgeons in surgery, to train laboratory employees to maintain and acquire technical skills, or “to raise staff awareness in order to minimize the constraints imposed on animals during experimental procedures”. When looking at the projects involved, this last point comes into question:

“At the end of the procedures, the animals will either be reused if no damage has been observed, or put to death if the limit points have been reached.” These are the words of a project summary dated May 28, under which 1,930 small herbivores will be subjected to restraint, multiple sampling, injections, vaginal smears and anesthesia. 

This chillingly bureaucratic sentence masks a revolting reality: animals are regarded as mere teaching aids, and their lives are discarded at the slightest sign of suffering or injury. Clearly, if mistakes are made, no matter what the consequences, they are killed. 

It is crucial to note that these practices are not only terrible for the animals; they also have a psychological impact on those who carry them out. The law requires the use of alternative methods whenever possible, so it’s essential to demand not training on living beings, but on the alternatives that exist. 

A call to action

We therefore call on laboratories to systematically favor alternative methods, and on professionals to be trained in testing without living beings. We also urge our political representatives to finally vote in favor of much greater funding for research into alternative methods.

If you are a student or professional shocked by these practices, we invite you to contact us (we guarantee you total confidentiality) and/or to call on the Ministry of Higher Education and Research to end animal experimentation and adopt alternative methods: download the standard letter.

Foxes: in the Hautes-Pyrénées region, slaughter them at all costs. Petition for suspension filed

Foxes: in the Hautes-Pyrénées region, slaughter them at all costs. Petition for suspension filed

Foxes: in the Hautes-Pyrénées region, slaughter them at all costs. Petition for suspension filed
13.08.2024
Foxes: in the Hautes-Pyrénées region, slaughter them at all costs. Petition for suspension filed
Hunting

In the middle of summer, the Hautes-Pyrénées prefect has just authorized administrative fox drive hunts, from August 6 to 31, 2024, in the villages of Peyrouse and Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre. Doubtless to satisfy the hunters and give them the opportunity to kill when the hunt is closed… Against the foxes, it’s a never-ending harassment. Here, the prefect expressly authorizes hunters to slaughter them in any way they wish. We’re attacking this decree to save as many as possible! Hearing on August 19, 2024 at the Administrative Court of Pau.

Carnage in progress in the Hautes-Pyrénées region

Now that the hunt is closed and the animals should be able to enjoy a few weeks’ respite before hunters return to the forests with their four-wheel drive vehicles and guns, foxes are once again being targeted, this time in the Hautes-Pyrénées region. Accusing them, as always, of causing damage, the prefect has just authorized an administrative drive hunt in Peyrouse and Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre from August 6 to 31.

This time, however, the representative of the State is taking a more aggressive stance than ever against these animals. “All methods” may be used, including ‘those traditionally prohibited for hunting’. It’s enough to make you shudder, when you know how imaginative hunters are when it comes to killing animals by the most cruel methods, from digging them up to trapping them in all kinds of ways.

The law? A detail when it comes to harassing foxes

Every year, hundreds of thousands of foxes are killed in France. And the few rules that the law imposes on prefects to authorize administrative drive hunts are regularly trampled underfoot. Here, the prefect is content to invoke “the damage caused in private barnyards”. Protecting these areas with fences is undoubtedly far too complicated! 

And the senior civil servant goes even further: he entrusts lieutenants de louveterie and pests with the task of initiating beats “if they consider that the declared damage justifies it”. Or when the State once again abandons its mission and decides no more and no less than to entrust it to the hunters themselves… 

We’ll be taking the voice of these foxes to the Administrative Court in Pau on August 19, 2024 at 9:00 am. In the meantime, support them by signing our petitions for the removal of foxes from the list of “species likely to cause damage” and for the eleven points of radical hunting reform we are calling for.

220 international organizations unite in front of Marineland in support of dolphinariums’ captive animals

220 international organizations unite in front of Marineland in support of dolphinariums’ captive animals

220 international organizations unite in front of Marineland in support of dolphinariums’ captive animals
05.08.2024
220 international organizations unite in front of Marineland in support of dolphinariums’ captive animals
Dolphinariums
Event

Several hundred French and international associations, shelters, foundations, parties and groups have responded to One Voice’s invitation on behalf of Wikie, Keijo and all dolphinarium captives.

Gathering on August 10, 2024 at 4:15 pm in front of Antibes Marineland in France

The third edition of this joint international rally promises to be even bigger than the previous two. One Voice is organizing this militant and visual action in front of Antibes Marineland on Saturday August 10, 2024, with its partners from all over the world. Thirty-seven countries are represented, as well as overseas associations. The support of four vegan restaurants* and several political parties is also worthy of note.

Outgoing MEP Caroline Roose (EELV-Les Verts), a long-standing supporter, will be present, as will artist Res Turner.

Speeches are scheduled, as well as educational presentations for young audiences. The memory of animals who have died in dolphinariums and other places where animals are used for captivity and training will be honored.

Among the tributes planned, a minute’s silence will be observed for all the dolphins and orcas who have died at the marine park since it opened, including of course Moana and Inouk, who lost their lives in Marineland’s basins, where they vegetated their entire existence.

A word will also be said for Lolita-Tokitae. Finally, there will be a message in honor of Morgan, captured in the Netherlands and held at Loro Parque in Spain (Tenerife) and Kshamenk in Argentina.

Organizations represented

from France

  • 1ndividus Refuge pour animaux de ferme
  • 269 Life France
  • AA – No Name
  • ACDA – Au coeur du droit des animaux
  • AJAS – Association Justice Animaux Savoie
  • AJPLA – Justice pour les animaux
  • Alliance Ethique
  • Alliance animale
  • Alliance écologique et sociale
  • Alternatiba Nice
  • Ami des lobbies
  • Anima Libre
  • Animal Save France
  • Animal Save Movement – Calais
  • Animal Save Movement – Sète
  • Animal Save Movement Perpignan
  • Animal1ste
  • Animaux en danger 06
  • Animégaux
  • Anonymous for the voiceless
  • Ashka Cause
  • Aslan 06
  • Association Espoir Réunion
  • Association les Clo’Chats
  • Association Stéphane Lamart
  • Association Gala
  • Association Gorilla
  • Association Green
  • Au cœur des M.A.E
  • B XII
  • BAC 13
  • Back to the wild Cetacea
  • Balance ton animalerie
  • Balance ton cirque
  • Camp Beagle Gannat
  • CAP – convergence animaux politique
  • CATS – Chats Abandonnés, Traumatisés, Soignés
  • Celtiques lévriers & Cie
  • CLP – contre la pêche des requins à la Réunion
  • Coexistence Crew
  • COLBAC
  • Collectif Renard blaireau
  • Collectif animalier du 06
  • Collectif Landes anti-corrida
  • Collectif SIPE
  • Collectif UPA 06
  • Convention Vie et Nature
  • Courir pour un animal
  • CPA – Collectif  protection animale
  • CRAC Europe
  • Darwin for ever
  • Dignité animale
  • Dominion France
  • Ecole du chat libre Vallauris Golfe Juan
  • ECOTALK
  • EEA – Education Ethique Animale
  • Ensemble pour l’abolition
  • Equi-Vivre
  • Ethics for animals
  • Extinction Rébellion Nice
  • Extrême sauvetage
  • Free Life
  • From Joy to animals nature and Earth
  • Futur Asso
  • GAC – Groupe anti captivité
  • Global Earth Keeper
  • Green Rose Café*
  • Greenpeace Nice
  • Greenpeace Troyes
  • Hello médiation animale
  • HMA – Halte maltraitance animale
  • L 214
  • L’arche de Léo
  • L’espoir des petites pattes
  • La cause animale aux Pennes Mirabeaux
  • La ferme de Henni le cochon
  • La patte dans la main
  • La tribu du fourmilier
  • La voix des loups
  • Le cercle de P.A.N – Protection des animaux et de la nature
  • Le monde de Tina
  • Le Poulpi Place
  • Le sanctuaire de la dernière chance
  • Le Var contre la corrida
  • Les chats du Mercantour
  • Les écologistes – Commission condition animale
  • Les protégés de Nathalie
  • Les sales gosses
  • Les sans voix d’Eden
  • Les Z’animours
  • Militants animalistes Sainté
  • Mormal Préservation
  • Moustaches et coussinets
  • MVMA – Ma ville mes animaux
  • NALA 83
  • No Corrida
  • Non à la souffrance animale
  • NONBI radio
  • OABA
  • One Voice
  • OXFAM Nice
  • P.A.N.E Protection Animale, Nature et Environnement
  • PAACT – Fontainebleau
  • PACA pour demain
  • PACT for wildlife
  • Parole d’animaux
  • Parti Animaliste
  • PAZ – Projet animaux Zoopolis
  • Peta France
  • Plant Based Treaty France*
  • Plus belle la vie
  • POGO – Street food*
  • Poilus & Co Pour l’amour de nos poilus
  • Projet Méduses
  • Règne animal
  • Réseau – Cétacés
  • REV – Révolution écologique pour le Vivant
  • Rien que pour eux
  • SAMY – Wildlife Keeper
  • Sanctuaire la Garie
  • Save Frimie
  • Scientifiques en rébellion
  • Second Dog’s Life
  • Shark Mission France
  • Solidarité animaux en détresse 06
  • SOS Grand bleu
  • Stoppons la corrida
  • Street Cats
  • SURFRIDER Antenne 06
  • SVP – Sans Voix PACA
  • TAF – The Animal Fund
  • Terre bleue
  • Terre heureuse
  • The circle of silence
  • The Earthling Experience
  • The last cetacean
  • Tilikum’s spirit
  • TORO STOP
  • Touche pas à mon blaireau !
  • Tous étreins, faisons le lien
  • U06 – F.S.U
  • Un brin de chance
  • USEA – Alliance
  • Utopia
  • Vegan Impact
  • Véganimo
  • VG Green*
  • VIDA – Voir informer dénoncer agir

From around the world

  • Activistas animalistes de la Costa – Argentine
  • AEDE – Suisse
  • Alejandro Ariel Dintino – Argentine / États-Unis
  • ALM – Animal Liberation Malte – Malte
  • Animal rights CHUBU – Japon
  • Animal Save – Népal
  • Animal Save – Inde
  • Animal Save Movement – Kuantan – Malaisie
  • Animal Save Movement – Christchurch – Nouvelle Zélande
  • Animal Save Movement – Lima – Pérou
  • Animal Save Movement – Madrid – Espagne
  • Animal Save – Global – Canada
  • Animal Save Movement – Zurich – Suisse
  • AnimalRights – Autriche
  • Anubis Association internationale défense des animaux – France/ Egypte
  • Association Co&xister – Suisse
  • Ban Animal Trading – Afrique du Sud
  • Bike for animals – Italie
  • Boycott SeaWorld – États-Unis
  • Cetaceans – États-Unis
  • Climate Save – Inde
  • Diffusion V Luxembourg – Luxembourg
  • Dogs for rescue – Angleterre
  • Dolphin Project – USA
  • Dominion – Australie
  • DxE CDMX – Mexico – Mexique
  • EcoVegAnimals – Bosnie-Herzégovine
  • Empty the tanks – Portugal
  • Empty the tanks –  États-Unis
  • Empty the tanks – Argentine
  • Empty the tanks – Mexico – Mexique
  • FAADA – Espagne
  • FADPE – Congo
  • Free Morgan Foundation – Pays-Bas
  • Freedom 4 animals – Global – Royaume-Uni
  • Freedom for Animals – Royaume-Uni
  • Freedom for dolphins – Japon
  • Health Save – Inde
  • Justice for Animals – Belgique
  • La Casa Vegana – Porto Rico
  • Le rêve d’Aby – Belgique
  • Les oubliés d’Algers – Algérie
  • Marine Connection & Chair Dophina free Europe – Royaume-Uni
  • OCAW – Ontario Captive Animal Watch – Canada
  • Origami whales project –  États-Unis
  • Our planet theirs too – États-Unis
  • Partito Nationale Revoluzione Ecologista Animalista – Italie
  • PCA – Poxer of compassion for All – Japon
  • PEAK MARCHE – Japon
  • Pro Wal – Allemagne
  • Sanctuaire de la Teranga – Sénégal
  • Save the Ocean – MLT – Malte
  • Stop Finning – Allemagne
  • Stop Taiji slaughter – Royaume-Uni
  • Twala Trust – Zimbabwe
  • Until Lolita is home – Royaume-Uni
  • V.I.D.A Veganismos, informando, derechos, animales – Pérou
  • Veg Voyages Foundation – États-Unis
  • Veg’ Peace – Corée du Sud
  • Vegan Action – Australie
  • Vegan Activists Association – Hongrie
  • Vegan Life NGO – Grèce
  • Vegan Society Luxembourg – Luxembourg
  • Vegan Travel Asia – États-Unis
  • VGT.at – Autriche
  • Voces Animalistes – Grande Canarie
  • World Orca Day – Australie
  • WOW – Women of the world united against Taiji – Royaume-Uni
  • WTF – WE THE FREE – Royaume-Uni
  • Zoot – Italie

Bear scaring: in the Ariège department, a new decree… and an immediate counterattack

Bear scaring: in the Ariège department, a new decree… and an immediate counterattack

Bear scaring: in the Ariège department, a new decree… and an immediate counterattack
05.08.2024
Bear scaring: in the Ariège department, a new decree… and an immediate counterattack
Wildlife

In the middle of summer, the bears of the Ariège region are being targeted by the State’s representatives. On the nights of August 5 to 8, agents from the French Office for Biodiversity, armed with 12-gauge shotguns loaded with double-detonation cartridges, will be able to carry out “reinforced scaring shots”. Even though the species is protected, and these interventions can have serious consequences for the animals targeted. And as always, the decree is published at the last minute to prevent us from taking action. But that didn’t stop us: on Saturday, we filed a petition for protection of fundamental liberties, which will enable us to obtain a decision within 48 hours at the latest. Hearing on August 6 at 11am at the Toulouse Administrative Court.

A new anti-bear decree published at the last minute

A few days ago, as we have done every summer for the past two years, we took legal action to force the Prefect of Haute-Garonne to publish his scare shooting authorizations several days before the operations, which is the only way for us to be able to attack in time. Apparently, the message didn’t get through.

In the Ariège department, on Friday August 2, the prefect issued a decree authorizing the scaring of a bear on the Trapech mountain pasture from Monday to August 8, at night. Without providing the slightest proof of any damage. There is simply mention of an attack in July, with no further details.

These operations, at the height of the breeding season and when many bears are carrying cubs, will have serious consequences due to the stress they cause. Ineffective measures, even though inexpensive alternatives exist and must be implemented.

Putting an end to the authorities’ relentlessness

Persecution: that’s how you could sum up the State’s actions with regard to ursids. A species that is supposed to be protected, whose individuals have been snatched away from their own to be imported into France, under constant threat of poaching, but which is constantly the subject of “scaring” orders.

In 2022, we obtained from the courts the suspension of all orders issued by the Ariège prefecture against brown bears. In 2023, for the first time, we successfully mobilized an extreme emergency procedure to defend the individuals once again targeted by the State. We are continuing our actions in 2024, to raise the voice of these harassed animals.

Digging up badgers: legal victories… and prefecture shenanigans!

Digging up badgers: legal victories… and prefecture shenanigans!

Digging up badgers: legal victories… and prefecture shenanigans!
05.08.2024
Digging up badgers: legal victories… and prefecture shenanigans!
Hunting

Thousands of badgers saved thanks to our emergency procedures, dozens of decrees declared definitively illegal by the courts… and panic on the part of hunters and prefectures! As the last hearings of the season approach and the victories multiply, the hunters and the authorities are looking for every possible way to keep this cruel pastime alive. Here’s an example from the Haute-Marne department, where the prefecture is more interested in defending hunters than in respecting animals and the law.

2024: another emergency suspension, more than 4,000 badgers saved

In the Deux-Sèvres department, we intervened with a real associative front: together with AVES, ASPAS, LPO, Deux-Sèvres Nature Environment and Veterinarians for Biodiversity, we obtained from the court the suspension of the digging a few days after its opening.

A logical decision, given that the prefecture had acknowledged that “during the supplementary period […] almost all the young are taken“! And this at a time when we have obtained confirmation from the State Council that it is forbidden to kill young badgers…

In all, over 4,000 individuals were saved by our actions in 2024. And, department by department, after the emergency, the courts are confirming the illegality of this cruel hunt in spring and summer: in Charente-Maritime and Vienne (where we were attacking with the LPO and Vienne Nature), the 2023 authorizations have just been definitively annulled. A new hearing will take place on September 6 at 10:30 a.m. at the Rouen administrative court for the Eure department (with AVES, FNE Normandie and LPO Normandie).

In the Haute-Marne department, scheming that won’t go down well!

We know that prefectures will do anything to allow hunters to continue killing badgers, who are systematically accused of all evils. Even if it means opening giant administrative beat hunts, as in the Ain department, where we have counter-attacked, or simply trampling on a court ruling, as in Haute-Marne.

In this department, in April 2024, the Châlons-en-Champagne administrative court ruled in our favor, definitively canceling the supplementary period scheduled from May 15, 2024 to September 14, 2024. The prefecture then rushed to prepare the adoption of a new decree, authorizing a complementary period from June 1… but this decree was never published! We now understand why: in the middle of summer, an authorization has just been issued for a supplementary period from August 1 to September 15.

This behavior on the part of the Haute-Marne prefect is unacceptable on three counts: it illustrates a senseless attack on animals, the shameless violation of a court ruling, and a maneuver in the sole interest of hunters, far removed from the defense of the general interest. With AVES and ASPAS, we attack this decree, and solemnly denounce this behavior!

Speak up for badgers with us! Sign our petitions for their protection, a ban on digging up badgers and a radical reform of the hunting system!

Turtle-dove hunting: a moratorium is good, a ban is better!

Turtle-dove hunting: a moratorium is good, a ban is better!

Turtle-dove hunting: a moratorium is good, a ban is better!
01.08.2024
Turtle-dove hunting: a moratorium is good, a ban is better!
Hunting

Thanks to our long-standing fight for turtle doves, every year the government adopts a suspension of their hunting. For the 2024-2025 season, we invite you to participate massively in the public consultation organized by the Ministry. We call on you to support this solution, which gives respite to the thousands of birds that would have perished under hunters’ shotgun pellets… while reminding the government that this measure is not enough: we are now calling for their outright removal from the list of huntable species.

A long-term battle for turtle doves

As early as 2020, we were alerting public opinion to the fate of these birds on the brink of extinction, classified as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. For them, the threats are everywhere: disappearance of their habitats, noise pollution… not to mention hunters who, until 2020, were killing nearly 17,500 individuals every year. 

With the LPO, we therefore launched an appeal against these unacceptable authorizations, and in 2020 obtained their emergency suspension by the French State Council. Convinced by our arguments, the judges were particularly severe with the State: small steps were insufficient, and only a moratorium could be envisaged. A landmark victory that saved thousands of birds!

For an outright ban on turtle-dove hunting

Since then, the State has suspended their slaughter every year. The Ministry of Ecological Transition has just opened the public consultation on the decree relating to the 2024-2025 season: we invite you to massively voice your support for this proposal! 

In particular, you can point out that turtle doves are in a very worrying state of conservation, and that their populations are declining due to climate change, habitat destruction and numerous other anthropogenic pressures, notably agriculture.

Killing animals for pleasure at a time when biodiversity is collapsing is no longer an option. At a time when France holds the European record for the number of species that can be killed, it’s high time to step up a gear and demand a radical reform of hunting!

Incitement to poach wolves: Coordination Rurale 87 has gone too far!

Incitement to poach wolves: Coordination Rurale 87 has gone too far!

Incitement to poach wolves: Coordination Rurale 87 has gone too far!
31.07.2024
Incitement to poach wolves: Coordination Rurale 87 has gone too far!
Wildlife

On July 26, the Coordination Rurale de Haute-Vienne (CR 87) syndicate shamelessly announced that it would be offering 1,000 euros to anyone bringing in dead wolves. An incitement to commit offenses against a protected species. For every animal killed, we will take legal action against the shooters and this lobby for complicity.

We have served formal notice on the syndicate, asking it to withdraw its publications and reminding it of the penalties incurred. We have also asked the prefecture to take a stand and not allow illegality to take root on its territory.

A farmer’s lobby with a track record 

Back in 2021, this group proclaimed loud and clear: “In Haute-Vienne, we have lead and poison, and we’ll manage this ourselves!” But in France, incitement to poaching is punishable only if it is followed by action… The opponents can therefore continue to parade around and incite people to commit crimes, as they have just done.

These activists are no strangers to intimidation. Last October, when our activists were running an awareness-raising stand in Limoges to inform the public about wolves, the CR 87 called for a demonstration to ban our educational action. So freedom of expression only exists for anti-wolf breeders.

The Coordination Rurale has crossed the line. They are ashamed of nothing. They want to empty nature of its biodiversity so they can continue to exploit animals for maximum profit. These subsidy-fed farmers don’t care about our children’s heritage, as long as they make money. Muriel Arnal President of One Voice

Financial aid isn’t enough: they want the wolves to die!

Let’s not forget that these same farmers already receive public funding to buy and install protection for their flocks (which is highly effective if installed). And who cares if they don’t do it properly, they’re still compensated.

Opposition is so strong in this department that a campaign to slaughter stray dogs was even launched in May, proof that the authorities are prepared to do anything rather than impose this effective means of healthy and sustainable cohabitation. We immediately attacked the decree, which was repealed before the hearing at the Limoges administrative court.

For every wolf illegally killed, we will not hesitate to take the poachers and the Coordination Rurale to court. We would also point out that, while the latter promises 1,000 euros for each corpse, the law guarantees up to three years’ imprisonment and a 150,000 euro fine.