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A counter-power to the hunters must emerge!

A counter-power to the hunters must emerge!

A counter-power to the hunters must emerge!
31.08.2018
Paris
A counter-power to the hunters must emerge!
Natural habitat

Tuesday, August 28th, 2018, the Minister for the Ecological and Supportive Transition, also a Minister of State, resigned live on the radio. He was alone in bringing the voice of nature and animals to the government and in the « majority ». Why this departure? Because this was an umpteenth meeting with the President of the Republic and the hunters, always offering more latitude to these predators of nature.

Since the election of the new President of the Republic, the hunters have received nothing but gifts and have not faced any setbacks or conceded anything! The cause of wild animals has never been so precarious. Worse, their defenders are threatened and attacked! It is time to change; the population is ready for reforms to restrict the rights of hunters. Impunity must stop. So many species are disappearing; France must take its share of the responsibility. We call on all animal welfare associations in France and Europe to join us in Paris on Saturday 13th October for a big gathering against hunting, for the respect of animals and the safeguarding of biodiversity.

For months now we had realised that Nicolas Hulot was a « token green » for the President of the Republic, nothing more to him than a nice political trophy. With the resignation of the minister announced live on France Inter Tuesday August 28th 2018, it is confirmed. Emmanuel Macron’s « Make our planet great again » was nothing but dust, the president eats from the hunters’ hand. The straw that broke the camel’s back: a meeting held the day before for which Nicolas Hulot had demanded the absence of the lobbyist for guns and hunting; when he arrived, he was waiting for him. Ahead of the President’s response, (« I do not know how this gentleman had arrived »), Nicolas Hulot considered they were making fun of him.

We recall that in France hunting kills every year 45 million wild animals – or from animals bred for hunting- not counting the « collateral » human and animal victims. Now we are experiencing the sixth mass extinction!

Hunting is neither a hobby nor a lifestyle! And it is not by replacing the words « kill » and « shoot » with those of « manage », « harvest » or « serve » that the practice is less cruel to animals and less harmful to nature. It is time for such destructive activity to be banned.

Since May 2017, the cruel ways of hunting birds continue whilst our European neighbours restrict or prohibit them. Hunting with hounds and horses scandalizes the population, but huntsmen continue to whack horses and dogs with whips while terrorizing and slaughtering animals in the undergrowth. Foxes are hunted all year long even during the breeding season and right into their burrows and even at night. Dozens of wolves are condemned to death each year, despite being a protected species. The hunters are even empowered by some police chiefs to take over the work of gendarmes, and thus a private militia is born! It is an independent militia that seizes the opportunity! Walkers are in danger in the forests, including at weekends and during holidays. the halving of the cost of a hunting licence that allows killing almost for free… This is extremely worrying and dangerous. Love for nature does not go hand in hand with destruction, degradation and animal suffering, but only with respect and wonder. 

We demand a deep and radical reform of hunting while waiting for its outright ban. Push forward with us:

  1. An independent hunting police;
  2. A ban of hunting species with a precarious conservation status ;
  3. A ban of hunting during the breeding season ;
  4. A ban on killing traps ;
  5. The end of « traditional » hunting methods (glue, dead fall traps for birds, snares, hunting on lacs, hunting on the slopes …) ;
  6. A ban on underground hunting for all species ;
  7. A ban on hunting with hounds for all species ;
  8. A ban on hunting in protected areas (National Parks, Nature Reserves, Ecological Reserves) ;
  9. 2 day a week without hunting or trapping (including Sundays) and during the whole of the school holidays;
  10. Yearly compulsory health’s check to obtain a hunting licence including an eye test.

Please sign and share our petition! And join us along with many others on October 13th in Paris!

Honey loses her reason in a filthy pool

Honey loses her reason in a filthy pool

Honey loses her reason in a filthy pool
30.08.2018
Japon
Honey loses her reason in a filthy pool
Exploitation for shows

The last dolphin of the Inubosaki Marine Park in Japan has been left floating alone for months. In this dolphinarium that has closed, there is only one left. The dirty water of the pool threatens her health and she is going insane from the loneliness and boredom. Let’s rally together for her! Honey must be transferred to an emergency sanctuary!

Honey, capturée à #Taiji, meurt seule à petit feu dans un delphinarium au Japon. Elle flotte inerte à la surface de l’eau, le soleil brûle profondément sa peau. @AmbJaponFR @AbeShinzo transférez vite ce #dauphin dans un sanctuaire et ne reprenez pas les massacres et les captures! pic.twitter.com/Qr2JJz86QM

— Muriel Arnal (@MurielArnal) 30 août 2018

Honey relentlessly raises her head and brings it back into the water. Her stereotypical movements are confined to madness. Her skin is burned from the sun and she has lost her companion Bee. From a distance, one would think it was a buoy bobbing in the waves at sea. But in fact, we are in a tiny pool of a Japanese dolphinarium that has been closed for several weeks now. And of the sea, Honey has only vague memories. The bottlenose dolphin was captured in Taiji Bay more than fourteen years ago. She was only four years old during the carnage that killed her family in that infamous place known only too well, precisely at that time we were there with Ric O’Barry, one of the main characters in the documentary The Cove, then a consultant on our team. It is therefore very likely that we attended the capture of Honey!

In 2003, we discovered the sickening link between the killings and capturing and for the first-time reported pictures of trainers choosing dolphins for dolphinariums. Before that we had our suspicions but had no evidence. Images were broadcast all over the world by the BBC in 2004 and then again to the scientists present at the 19th Conference of the European Cetacean Society in La Rochelle in 2005, as well as to the Whaling Commission. It was a global tsunami for the dolphinarium industry: the public was finally able to gauge the hypocrisy of those who say they are working to protect cetaceans!

Video 2 – Video 3 – Video 4

It is vital that the Japanese authorities take stock of the danger faced by the dolphins of Taiji Bay! The massacres and their link with the captive industry, which we have been denouncing for a long time now, must absolutely end, this business should cease now! No tradition can justify this. Cetaceans, like all wild mammals, must be spared from this cruelty and captivity!

But the urgency today is for Honey.

Together with us, write to the Embassy of Japan or call, to request that honey be removed from this dead pond, and not be sent to another dolphinarium! She must be urgently transferred to a sanctuary! At the embassy, calls, emails, and maybe even tweets are recorded and forwarded to the ministry in Tokyo. It is therefore very important that we are numerous and active for her!

Forced to swim under the glare of onlookers for a captive elephant

Forced to swim under the glare of onlookers for a captive elephant

Forced to swim under the glare of onlookers for a captive elephant
29.08.2018
Taïlande
Forced to swim under the glare of onlookers for a captive elephant
Exploitation for shows

It’s a pleasure for free elephants to bathe and swim. But in no case should they be forced into a deep pool where they struggle to hold their heads above the water! Yet it is the daily life for elephants held in a Thai zoo. This is unacceptable, the public must refuse to go see this! We contacted Trip Advisor to stop recommending the attraction and selling tickets. An immediate success of this operation!

The video of « World Animal News » shows an elephant who seems to be struggling to swim. The tiny pool has a glass partition, allowing dozens of zoo customers to see the elephant underwater. But what show are we seeing? The humiliation of the largest land mammal, struggling to keep his head out of the water, forced to perform! What extreme stress!

Des #éléphants forcés à nager, qui peinent à garder la tête hors de l’eau au #KhaoKheowOpenZoo en Thaïlande. Humiliation, stress extrême, comment des touristes peuvent-ils payer pour voir ça? Eduquons-les! Et @tripadvisor ne recommandez plus cet enfer. pic.twitter.com/cyCpaueKms

— Muriel Arnal (@MurielArnal) 27 août 2018

We alerted Trip Advisor as soon as we became aware of these outrageous images. How can we continue to sell tickets for this not only violent but ridiculous attraction to an endangered animal in the wild? What does it teach children? What image does it give of wild animals?

Two days later, Trip Advisor reacted our observations and requests!

Merci à vous de nous avoir alerté. Nous vous confirmons que cette attraction avec des éléphants ne respecte pas les règles de notre charte de protection des animaux. Par conséquent, toute vente de billets pour cette attraction a cessé avec effet immédiat.

— TripAdvisor France (@TripAdvisorFR) 29 août 2018

A flamingo, symptomatic victim of hunting

A flamingo, symptomatic victim of hunting

A flamingo, symptomatic victim of hunting
29.08.2018 Grande Motte
A flamingo, symptomatic victim of hunting
Natural habitat

On Tuesday, August 28, a flamingo was found dead at La Grande-Motte, after being shot by a hunter. It was however ringed, and its species is protected. If the shooter was a hunter, one wonders with which animal the flamingo was confused with! It is forbidden to kill these animals! We file a complaint.

Pour le #FlamantRose, victime de ce qui ressemble fort à un acte de #chasse, nous déposons plainte pour atteinte à une espèce protégée auprès du procureur de #Montpellier. Certainement la biodiversité #EnMarche mais pour nous ça ne passera pas. @Midilibre https://t.co/Dz9BzxcyYu

— One Voice (@onevoiceanimal) 28 août 2018

This poor eight-year-old Flamingo, a great Mediterranean traveller, having been observed in recent years in the Camargue, and regularly wintering in the salt mines of Thyna in Tunisia. This the last collateral victim of a system maintained by the power in place: Hunters who killwith impunity, whether they have the right or not!Including, obviously outside hunting periods and on a golf course, which is open to the public! We file a complaint for infringement of a protected species with the Prosecutor of Montpellier.

Let Nature recover its place

We are opposed to hunting but even the legislation that is in place is not respected! It’s a tragedy for birds, a disaster for rabbits, foxes, badgers, wolves, deer…That their species be considered as being able to cause only damage, like game or protected species! It’s a drama for every animal involved.

Why always have a dismissive position? Balance must not be managed by hunting! humans do not have to regulate and control any species. On the contrary, the human species must give back their rightful place to animals and allow Nature to regulate itself whenever it is necessary.

That’s enough!

The same day, after being stabbed in the back, Nicolas Hulot, the Minister of Ecological Transition and solidarity made the decision to resign, dirty gifts from the President of the Republic to the Federation of hunters. We must radically reform the hunt, and go for a ban! Please Sign our petition, and come to our unified march on October 13th!

Photo: Grande-Motte Municipal Police

One Voice requests the urgent confiscation of 4 lionesses and a lion!

One Voice requests the urgent confiscation of 4 lionesses and a lion!

One Voice requests the urgent confiscation of 4 lionesses and a lion!
28.08.2018
Ardennes
One Voice requests the urgent confiscation of 4 lionesses and a lion!
Exploitation for shows

For several months, we have been following closely these 3 lionesses, improperly detained by an Italian circus, in order to obtain their confiscation. But today there is an emergency, and for the other 2 lions as well! They are left on hot tarmac, without water, without shade, despite the heat. We must act quickly!

They are called Baby, Bellone and Caroline. They are at least 8 years old. They do not have papers. One of them may have been sold to the circus by a French zoo. There is a lot of uncertainty regarding the information that concerns them. His name is Nelson, he is 2 and a half years old. He is a white lion, of those that are bred for the captivity industry. Mandela is a lioness of the same age, white as well.

Baby, Bellone and Caroline have been exploited by this circus for years. Nelson and Mandela joined them at the end of March this year. They had arrivee from South Africa and the circus hopes to get them to breed, according to what it has told the press…

For several months, we have been following this circus which improperly holds the three lionesses, and which, we feared, it wants to get rid of, given their age, as well as three pythons and a zebra. Today, a line has been crossed. Beyond the problems of the confinement of these wild animals and their training, this circus not only sits outside the law, but what it also inflicts on these poor lionesses and lion is intolerable!

While they should be able to frolic outside of their truck, their « relaxation » space has been placed directly on hot tarmac. No fresh water or even a shady corner most of the day, despite the hot weather!

One Voice has filed a complaint in respect of the abuse endured by these 5 lions and requests their confiscation. We have made sure that there is a place waiting for them in a sanctuary in South Africa, with our partners Born Free.

The association also wrote to the mayor of Réthel where the circus is currently located to ask him to issue a decree to ban animal shows on his territory.

To help us save them from the circus, please sign and broadcast our petition!

Edit: Following complaints from the public, lions are now entitled to … a thin layer of sawdust …

Fur: the unbearable images of a young mink devoured alive

Fur: the unbearable images of a young mink devoured alive

Fur: the unbearable images of a young mink devoured alive
20.08.2018
Lithuanie
Fur: the unbearable images of a young mink devoured alive
Fashion

These are the images of a survey conducted in a fur farm in Lithuania, shared by Tušti narvai, one of our partners in the Fur Free Alliance. We see a young mink being devoured alive by his brothers and sisters. This horrible scene is only a tiny part of the nightmare of mink reared for their fur. It is time for this to stop. Please sign the petition! #VisonsLeRespect

A nightmare scene

« This is the most shocking scene I’ve seen. » Thus, the investigator who conducted the investigation describes the images he filmed: a young mink, locked in a cage on this fur farm, with his stomach open, desperately trying to escape his brothers and sisters who devour him alive.

This nightmare, however, is not uncommon. In fur farms, individuals are born and live in tiny cages. Forced into promiscuity, condemned to boredom, they go crazy, attack, injure themselves, and sometimes are devoured…

A sample of the horror

On the video of the investigation, we also see: minks covered with blood after fighting, others with missing limbs, ears torn off, open wounds, babies a few days old trembling on the fence, the infamous porridge that feeds them, piles of faeces crawling with larvae under the cages … Alerted to these acts of cruelty through the investigation, the local veterinary authorities should now work with the prosecutor’s office to obtain an adapted sanction

#VisonsLeRespect

Why all this horror? For the luxury industry? Yes, this breeding is in Lithuania, but also in France there are fur farms. And, above all, our country, the international capital of fashion and luxury, has an important role to play with its creators … Fashion does not need fur, an ethical fashion is possible and is chosen by more and more fashion designers.

For the ban on raising animals for their fur, please sign and share our petition!

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One Voice partner of Photogr’Africa exhibition for African wildlife

One Voice partner of Photogr’Africa exhibition for African wildlife

One Voice partner of Photogr’Africa exhibition for African wildlife
17.08.2018
France
One Voice partner of Photogr’Africa exhibition for African wildlife
Wildlife

With his project Photogr’Afrque and his beautiful photos, Mathieu Courdesses raises public awareness about the protection of wild animals.

From the small golden mole to the majestic lion, Africa abounds with breath-taking wildlife. With his Photogr’Afrique project and his beautiful photos, Mathieu Courdesses, a photographer passionate about the African continent, wants to raise public awareness about the protection of wild animals in this endangered territory.

A »s a child, during a trip to Namibia with his family Mathieu fell in love with the African continent. Today, a safari guide during the high season, he travels the territory in search of its majestic wildlife and takes the opportunity to satisfy his passion for photography.

Aware of the stakes at work in this region of the world where lawful hunts, poaching and animal tourism are intertwined, Mathieu Courdesses wishes, through his photographs, to show all of the beauty of the African fauna and to alert the European population to the importance of preserving it. « I realized that some species are going to disappear, it touched me a lot and I told myself that I needed to raise awareness. To show people that there is still a very wild region in Africa and that it must be preserved. »

In Africa, poaching effectively destroys an elephant every 15 minutes and 4 rhinoceros a day. After drugs and guns, trafficking of endangered species is third in the world.

Thus, even if there are very large disparities on the continent, some species are alarmingly scarce: « In Namibia, there is a big problem with black rhinos, which are increasingly difficult to find. Their population is very threatened. On my first trip to Namibia, rhinoceros were easily found on the way to water points. Today it is much more difficult because poachers hunt them for their horns. »

The moments immortalized by Mathieu are wild and unique moments. They capture the look, the emotion. His photos are his response to the widespread belief that we humans are at the centre of the world. These images seek to challenge the viewer, to bring home an awareness. The world does not belong to us! « Humans can have a huge negative impact, but I’m convinced that they can also play an important role in protecting animals. »

For Mathieu, it is essential to keep hoping: « Everything is not negative, everything is not black. I see a growing awareness for the preservation of the great African wildlife. » He is currently working on a web documentary series for animal protection with the director Gilles de Maistre.

Humans are able to fight against the killing of these animal species. Some, more and more numerous, are fighting on the spot for the protection of the animals, and with very beautiful successes: « While there is almost none in the Congo, one sees more and more elephants, in Southern Africa for example. A few years ago, I followed herds of elephants with 10 or 15 individuals. Today, I come across the same herds with 30 or 40 individuals of all ages! »

The Photogr’Afrique exhibition is currently running in different locations in France. 50% of the proceeds from the sale of photographs and photo albums from the exhibition are donated to One Voice to support its fight in the preservation of wildlife.

Stay informed of upcoming dates on his website.

«Beyond its seriousness and its dynamism, One Voice is a great arch that welcomes all animal welfare sensitivities. It accepts both the most ardent defenders and the soul who is sensitive to animal welfare. It is for this reason that I chose to put my photographs at the service of this association.»Mathieu Courdesses

Pictures: Mathieu Courdesses

 

Let’s rally against the shooting of red foxes at night in Moselle

Let’s rally against the shooting of red foxes at night in Moselle

Let’s rally against the shooting of red foxes at night in Moselle
14.08.2018
Moselle
Let’s rally against the shooting of red foxes at night in Moselle
Wildlife

In Moselle, the Prefect published a decree ordering the night shooting on red foxes. We have filed an appeal for excess of power. Let us defend them!

Indeed, we could believe that the red foxes’ bad reputation precedes them… But it subsists in the collective imagination relating to a bygone era! The fox is a useful scapegoat for the system in place that justifies and consents to the slaughter of wild animals all year long – or even the initiative – of public services!

The prefect of Moselle remains adamant … against general opinion

Although several departments of France’s eastern regions – Aube, Meurthe-et-Moselle and the Ardennes – have renounced this year’s night massacres of foxes through a massive mobilisation, and despite the decision of the Administrative Court of Strasbourg who ruled the previous decree illegal, the Prefect of the Moselle remains adamant and issues a new decree which this time authorises the night shooting of the red foxes for 2 years over the whole department in order: « to protect the chicken coops » … even though no numerical data supports the claim that they represent an actual threat! It has been done in forceful manner, totally anti-democratic, the citizens being almost unanimously opposed to the shots at night: the public consultation reported 372 out of 380 against the night shots on these small mammals! 98%! The list of responses to advisory opinions is uplifting. It is only lip-service and bypassing the main subject. A prefecture which circumvents the decisions of justice and opposes the opinion of the population … Is this not a denial of democracy?

As for issues linked to foxes, they have been resolved for a long time (i.e. rabies), or had simple solutions not been applied despite common sense!The facts are there: they have a role to play in the ecosystem, without them, the whole thing is unbalanced. We cannot continue to hunt, dig up and kill these animals with impunity, all year long! Foxes are sentient beings and merely because of this, they should be protected. Since 2015, the Civil Code stipulates that animals are sentient beings, what is the use of having improved it if we are to maintain the same hunting practices towards them?

Foxes represent such a wealth, and have the right to live in peace in our forests (when our species does not know how to make the most of another animal species, most of the time, the latter is in danger of death)! They are intelligent and sensitive, and we continue to make them suffer martyrdom… The real reason for their hunting: the so called competition they represent to humans in view of the chicken farms (that are poorly protected), at the level of reared « game  » which are released by the hunters themselves, as well as the pleasure of killing that hunting provides under the cover of the regulations … The forest ecosystems could perfectly do without humans, by the way. The foxes and even the wolveswould have their place!

An abuse of power that must be denounced: Let’s rally!

While in recent years the population of foxes seems to be decreasing, these additional means of « destruction » appear disproportionate and dangerous for the inhabitants of our villages and can have serious consequences on the ecosystems given this small animal’s way of life. They are more than 500 000 that disappear every year, that’s enough, it has to stop ! We file a lawsuit for abuse of power together with several of our partners in the Renard Grand Est Collectiveagainst this shameful prefectural decree!

Please sign our petition to warn everyone about the fate of red foxes in France!

Help L’école du chat who are in shock after an attack on its most vulnerable proteges

Help L’école du chat who are in shock after an attack on its most vulnerable proteges

Help L’école du chat who are in shock after an attack on its most vulnerable proteges
11.08.2018
Quiberon
Help L’école du chat who are in shock after an attack on its most vulnerable proteges
Domestic animals

Three cats died from an act of violence which left two cats, two dogs and humans traumatized. L’école du chat in Quiberon has suffered serious harm, in fact everyone has suffered from this sordid and sad tale because of the malice of some. An investigation is underway, we support this shelter, a long-time partner of ours.

During the first weekend of August, it was very hot in France. In Brittany the torpidity of the day eventually gave way to the freshness of the night. Everything was calm. Sally and Mojito, two little cats who lived atL’école du chat in Quiberon took advantage of the shade from their little cabin, while Martin, as usual, played quietly and taught Jason and Mathurin his best tricks. Because they are the youngest, they are also the most playful. These five cats have FIV (a virus attacking the immune system, such as HIV for humans), are very fragile to any infection, which can be fatal. These charming cats with a difficult past and the volunteers who lavish them with all possible love, helping to restore in them their taste for life and their confidence in the future … This was their last evening of serenity together.

During the night of Sunday through to Monday two extremely friendly dogs, a Labrador and a German Shepherd were stolen from a family who want to file a lawsuit against the unnamed.

At dawn, the perpetrators went around to L’école du chat in Quiberon, they spotted a place where the roof was the least solid and threw the dogs from a height of two metres into the compound. The two large dogs panicked. On landing, they obviously suffered and were very scared. They then proceeded to attack the cats …

Sally and Mojito, the weakest of the cats, were literally scared to death, suffering heart attacks. In a flash, Jason and Mathurin had the reflex to protect themselves by climbing up high, and then witnessed the scene of extreme violence.

When help arrived, Martin was found in a pool of blood under a palette of the cabin. He was immediately taken to the vet. He underwent many treatments, but his body was too weak … After a 3-day fight, having already suffered so much, we had to let him go. On Thursday at the end of the day he eventually passed away, surrounded by love.

Jason and Mathurin have no physical injuries. But the trauma is still there, they are constantly worried. They no longer feel safe in their cabin, and now live hidden in their blankets. They need as soon as possible a host family or a permanent one. They are always close to the volunteers of the shelter, but are impossible to appease: they try to flee their cabin as soon as the door opens.

L’école du chat in Quiberon has filed a lawsuit against the unnamed perpetrators, we will give the school legal help, this act of extreme violence is against everyone in this sad story. Dead cats, traumatized survivors, dogs, and shelter volunteers who already need much support on a daily basis, to cope with food and veterinary expenses, and even equipment to improve the reception conditions for their unfortunate residents!

You too can help L’école du chat in Quiberon, participate in their prize draw, or propose to be a family for Jason or Mathurin!

JasonMathurin