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The world according to crows

The world according to crows
11.05.2018
Monde
The world according to crows
Wildlife

To many, crows are ominous birds, a pest that is hunted all year round. But in fact, crows are one of the world’s most intelligent species, boasting a more advanced cognitive ability than the great apes. These corvids that we see all around our towns can speak, can plan, can use tools, can remember and have their own cultures in their peaceful and well-balanced communities. These qualities have allowed them to effectively adapt themselves to human presence. A day in the life of these ordinary crows…

Home

The two crows fly over the town rapidly flapping their wings. Suburbs pass beneath them with roads and deserted lanes, cars parked in lines along the streets, and bins out in front of the houses, as they always are on this day of the week. They know the precise time and date of the rubbish collection, but they don’t need to stop: they have found what they are looking for. The black bird’s beaks are loaded with objects as they fly back from the council tip. On the horizon, removed from the grey ocean of human construction, lies an oasis of greenery. The park comes into view, with its central lake and the giant plane tree perched on its banks: the crow’s home.

The couple

The father to be returns from his expedition with two fine pink metal hangars. He likes them because of their colour and the way they shine. He pulls at the metal a bit so that it provides a better support for the old twig nest where so many children have come into the world. His partner is in charge of organising the interior. She moulds the walls out of dead leaves, bits of fabric, wadding and warm hair, which will protect her youngsters from any sudden drop in temperature. Better to prepare for risks, in a changeable climate.

The mother to be plunges towards the ground. She circles around a donkey grazing in her enclosure, then lands on her back and snatches a tuft of her hair. The donkey snorts in contempt, but the crow is already back at the top of the plane tree.

The three or four little blue and brown speckled eggs that she will lay will hatch into much loved adorable fluffy bundles. She and her partner will be devoted parents. Fortunately for them, they have both survived and nestled together for many tender years. Bringing up their children together means not only feeding them, but also a long period of education, as there is a lot to learn if they are to get by in this human world.

The family

This year, their eldest son is staying nearby to help. His two sisters have already flown off with a group of adolescents. All day long, the youngsters mess about and get to know each other in rowdy groups where these two girls will eventually find their partner. They are at first greeted by the intrepid males with head-butts before the males parade in front of them in a serious of crazy dares: undertaking near suicidal dives, chasing cars or sliding along snowy roofs with a yoghurt pot as a sledge. They entertain themselves like this all year round, until life couples form and they leave to start their own family.

The old man’s face

The days are getting milder and the ducklings are already following their mothers around. Humans come regularly to throw bread for them. An old man walks slowly down the path. The birds are familiar with his face, despite the time that has gone by. He feeds the ducks and other birds having returned after over a year of absence. Today he is back, with a cane and a new hat.

Happily cawing, the crows greet him before jumping from their branch and sitting next to him, forcing the pigeons to spread apart. The man throws chunks of raisin bread. Delicious! The couple’s son grabs a big piece and hides it further away, saving it for later.

Out of the corner of his eye, he notices that his father has seen. No problem: Pretending to gather leaves over his little treasure, he waits until his father looks away and quickly takes the bread and hides it under a privet grove. The family don’t like to share.

The tree that talks

Suddenly, cries can be heard coming from the side of the busy road that noisily borders the park. A crow has been hit by a car and her body thrown onto the verge. The corvids all take off and fly to the scene, perching at the top of a budding maple tree. The couple are among them, and are joined by others from a neighbouring park. Most of them come in pairs, including several of the couple’s children, who have since become parents. They greet each other in the powerful community dialect, but the family quickly reverts to softer tones, their own language. Everyone being black from beak to toe, the caw is the first distinguishing feature.

Yet, even though she will never talk again, the elder’s body is recognised by all. She was one of the oldest females in the park. At twenty years of age, her feathers had become shaggy and dirty and two of her left toes were infected. Everyone knew that she would die one day soon. But even so…

The meaning of death

The elder crow was a much appreciated member of the community, a matriarch of high standing who was esteemed for her forewarning, indicating the approach of a cat, a falcon, or budgerigars entering their trees in a particular tone. Seeing her dead provokes much reflection and the accident is discussed. It will be a long time before any crow will sit on that pavement there, for sure.

Little by little, the gossip comes to an end. Silence falls in the big tree heaving with black birds. Emotional, and with hearts full of memories, they each contemplate the corpse lying on the side of the pavement, under the dead leaves placed over her by companion, her partner until the end. What a mystery death is! Much sadness… But life calls, nests must be repaired, food needs to be found, children need to be educated. So everyone takes off in a black cloud doing a final circle overhead, one last goodbye…

References:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/06/06…
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2015/1026/CSI-cro…
http://www.lapresse.ca/sciences/decouvertes/201106…

Marine sanctuaries under study: for a decent retreat of captive cetaceans

Marine sanctuaries under study: for a decent retreat of captive cetaceans
09.05.2018
Canada
Marine sanctuaries under study: for a decent retreat of captive cetaceans

Last October, the Society for Marine Mammalogy’s biennial conference was held in Halifax, Canada. Doctor Pierre Gallego, marine biology veterinarian, participated for One Voice in the cetacean sanctuary working group. Three particularly advanced projects stand out for a better future for captive marine mammals.

The future of captive cetaceans in question

What are the prospects after deprivation of liberty and torture? What are the alternatives to offer to cetaceans currently prisoners and who are unable to adapt to the wildlife? These issues that concern us arise on an international scale. Other countries also want to end once and for all this slavery of marine mammals. Many experts are working to create sanctuaries to welcome them.

One Voice in Halifax

On October 28th and 29th, Doctor Pierre Gallego, marine mammal veterinarian, participated for One Voice in the Working Group on Cetacean Sanctuaries held in Halifax, Canada. This workshop, which took place as part of the biennial conference of the Society for Marine Mammalogy (SMM), brought together leading conservation experts. They were able to reflect together and share information, especially about three ambitious projects.

Three marine sanctuaries for cetaceans well underway

The Whale Sanctuary Project (WSP) was introduced by Doctor Lori Marino, a specialist in neurobiology and cetacean behaviour, with whom One Voice often works. This sanctuary will serve both as a retreat for Orcas and belugas from captivity, and as a centre of intervention for potential stranding’s, ensuring of course a complete separation between ex-captives and animals to be rehabilitated in order to avoid any risk of contagion. The choice of the final site is not yet finalized but several potentially suitable areas are being studied along the US and Canadian coastlines.
The Baltimore National Dolphin Sanctuary, initiated by the Baltimore National Aquarium, is designed to accommodate the 8 dolphins from this American aquarium in a natural environment and much larger than their current pools. It should also accommodate 12 additional dolphins. This sanctuary, which will probably be located in the Florida Keys or the Caribbean, will also have the task of treating stranded individuals with, again, all the necessary health precautions.
The Beluga Sanctuary Project consists of the organization Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) and Merlin Entertainment, they are intending to house beluga whales from a recent Chinese water park acquired by the operator Merlin. The location of this sanctuary remains to be determined, perhaps in Icelandic waters. Once the site is established, it can also collect belugas from other institutions.

One Voice more than ever mobilized for the release of captive cetaceans

One Voice is delighted by these constructive exchanges between specialists and the progress of these three projects. We are working to ensure that they take shape quickly and become the future for cetaceans that are currently captive in France. After having suffered so much, they finally have the right to a peaceful retreat in an environment close to their natural environment … The sea!

Wikie, the little ball of anger

Wikie, the little ball of anger
07.05.2018
Antibes
Wikie, the little ball of anger
Exploitation for shows

Wikie began life separated from her mother, was inseminated by force and gave birth at the age of 8, while Orcas in the wild give birth at around the age of 15. Thereafter, she bore an infant from incest, and then turned into a raging ball of anger attacking humans. The deaths of her relatives seem to have extinguished her. Weary of war, she repeats henceforth as a Dictaphone the words that scientists have had fun teaching her.

Wikie was born at Marineland Antibes on June 1st, 2001. She was the first Orca to be born in the new Orca pool, Sharkane and Kim 2, barely two years after Inouk. She spent the first eighteen months of her life in a side pool next to her mother, a rather confined start in life.

At 8, the gentle little Wikie became increasingly angry. She assaulted her trainer and dragged her underwater during an incident that could have been fatal.

She rebelled again and again but at the end of these « waterworks », these executed movements in the water by the killer whale and her trainer, she did not allow herself to direct her anger towards humans.

That year, in 2009, Wikie had just been inseminated.

Her trainers had her lying on her back and holding her still. They then plunged a large rubber tube into her vagina through the cervix. A miniature camera was attached to it. Then, the thawed sperm was injected directly into the uterus. They even entered the uterine horn with the camera to ensure that ovulation was in progress. The process is painful and rarely successful. It must be repeated. It was new, and Wikie was the first killer whale in Europe to become pregnant in this way and to be able to keep the child.

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« It takes months to train an Orca to calmly accept artificial insemination, » Jon Kershaw told the press cheerfully, « A dose of 2 million sperm is usually injected into the female’s vagina to make her pregnant. In the case of Wikie no less than 4 doses had to be injected into her ovaries.

Not easy, indeed, to remain calm during these humiliating sessions, and even less to see an infant come out of her body of which she has never known the father! Especially since Wikie was very young at the time, barely 8 years old, whereas the Orcas in the wild rarely breed before 14 or 15 years old, with one child every 3 to 5 years. Wikie, she gave birth to Keijo less than two years later, with her half-brother or brother, we do not know exactly. In any case, with one of them. And among Orcas in the wild, this is something that is not done: incest is prohibited. But promiscuity and lack of partners push captive Orcas to the most abnormal behaviours.

So yes, she is angry Wikie, even if she no longer attacks her trainers and carers.

The endless agony of Freya, her adoptive mother, the flood of 2015 engulfing the great pool with muddy water with its oily reflection, and finally the brutal death Valentin at 19, still unexplained, all this seems to have been snuffed out.

So, it is without doubt to distract her that a « researcher” came to teach her to repeat English words, as John Lilly had done with Peter the dolphin back in 1965. Much was made of this experience in the press, which was not exceptional, given the highly sophisticated social cultures, dialects, and hunting techniques of free Orcas.

But about this, we do not speak. The Orca remains in the collective imagination a somewhat stupid animal, repeating the sounds without understanding them as a Dictaphone. The intelligence of cetaceans is the first secret of a dolphinaria. And their suffering, the second.

A punch, an electric shock: Kamala, Mina and Lechmere exploited when parading in the circus tent

A punch, an electric shock: Kamala, Mina and Lechmere exploited when parading in the circus tent
04.05.2018
Lorraine
A punch, an electric shock: Kamala, Mina and Lechmere exploited when parading in the circus tent
Exploitation for shows

Kamala, Mina and Lechmee, captured when small in Asia, should not have had to live in circus trucks, chained up in urban car parks, exhibited in tents. We have rare images of violence, Mina being hit in the face, Kamala receiving an electric shock, and Lechmee, forced to parade in town despite her handicaps … What do these elephants go through, when far from view?

Kamala has been captive in a circus for over 40 years, like her companions of this misery, Lechmee, handicapped and blind, and Mina who helps her to eat. The three elephants all have stereotypical movements, very obvious for years now, evidence from the deleterious consequences of their living conditions and of their health, physical and mental. The last time we had heard from them, they had just been filmed, parading in a town in Lorraine, behind comes a truck thundering out from a loudspeaker a voice and deafening music. They swallowed up kilometres of road planned for the program of the circus tour which continues to hold them … Several thousands in just two months.

Is hitting or electrocuting caring?

The circuses, far from its complicity, who we continually dwell on, between a human trainer and loving animals, a demonstration of strength and domination of a human over the subject violently. Using multiple coercive means in case of disobedience, to shout out orders: food deprivation, isolation, ankus pikes, but also as in this case, electricity and punches near the eye.

From the images we shot a few days ago, we can clearly see the three elephants being surrounded by an electrified cable by a man taking care of them at the circus. Kamala jumps and tries to pull herself out of the electrified wire.

In another video filmed at the event « Micropolis » in Besançon by the association Humanimo, it is Mina who then bears the brunt of a torrid of violence on the part of the « carer », who demands that she stoop and because she does not obey fast enough, gives her a punch near the eye!

The previous procedures, unpublished, were unsuccessful, but our legal complaint for them is still under investigation. Let’s get these elephants out of their dark trucks, protect them from the cruelty of their « carers »! Justice must allow themto finally live in nature as in a sanctuary. The protection of their species should guarantee them the respect that is due to any sentient animal and should therefore be offered.

This must stop! Demand the immediate withdrawal of Mina, Kamala and Lechmee from the circus and their placement into a sanctuary. Please sign the petition that we will send to the Prime Minister.

Live rabbits still used as a teaching aid

Live rabbits still used as a teaching aid
03.05.2018
Europe
Live rabbits still used as a teaching aid
Animal testing

The use of live animals as part of the continuing training of veterinarians still persists in 2018, while other educational tools and alternative methods exist, and have proven to be effective. We write to the veterinary facility to demand that these courses be stopped.

On an ethical level, it is no longer acceptable to consider any living animal as « material » or a « living specimen ». And at an educational level, alternatives are as effective if not more and are now widely available to replace any animal living in the context of veterinary education. And yet…

One Voice has purchased a program on anaesthesia, dentistry and rabbit surgery given to practicing veterinarians. Imagine in the reality of these animals serving only as course material, it makes you shudder. We are revolted.

A program that underestimates the suffering of rabbits

The instructors demonstrate to their audience using a live rabbit, while digital video, multimedia software or virtual reality would be at least as effective, if not more so. These alternative formats make it possible to see the manipulation much more clearly, offer the possibility to enlarge, to make stills and to watch several times.

So, we deliberately anesthetize these rabbits and make them endure a whole day of manhandling! One can easily feel their pain and stress. To make an anaesthetic last all day long it is certainly necessary to « sleep » them several times… These small animals with long ears and so soft, could suffer this on many occasions, when the effects of these analgesics diminish. Especially during the breaks that the humans will have taken from the coffee machine in the middle of the morning, and then again to be satisfied in the middle of the day. During this time the rabbits will remain on the operating table.

« Demonstrations » rabbits manhandled and mutilated all day in front of students

The program for the day is organized for the humans, yet it is the beginning of the ordeal for these unfortunate rabbits.

9h – 11h: Each of the teachers will subject the « rabbit-material » to different types of anaesthetic. There are at least two rabbits to show these methods of anesthetization by intravenous injection, and by the volatile route (by inhalation of a gas). A catheter is placed inside each of these small beings for this demonstration but especially to be able to inject the analgesics through the day.

Similarly, several methods of orotracheal intubation are used, and therefore so many rabbits will see a plastic tube inserted through their mouth to the trachea and then far down into their throats. It is likely that the clinical actions are repeated several times so that the trainees can see the manipulation process and how to perform this from all angles. At what moment would one consider the impact of all of this of them, certainly « asleep » but also still living, never?

To measure their heart rate, rabbits are certainly kept still with a restraint system, so that the sensors cannot move in case of reflex movement …

11h30-12h30: After the break, the second part of the morning is devoted to the sterilization of rabbits and the castration of rabbits. The instructors thus remove the reproductive organs of the animals (testicles of males and ovaries and uterus of females). Since several irreversible surgical techniques are taught, one animal is required for each intervention (i.e. at least four per trainer)!

The animals will stay in the classroom while veterinary participants and their instructors go to lunch, and will see them return at 1:30 pm to then proceed to use them for dental extractions!

14h30-17h30: Finally, during the practical work, which are more or less successful tests of anaesthesia, oral manipulation, and intubation will be imposed on new rabbits by the trainees. Veterinarians, either alone or in small groups will then repeat the same operations as seen in the morning, each will take it in turns on the same rabbit…

At the end of the day, the rabbits are all killed. All of them, precisely because their death is made unavoidable after the trauma suffered during the practical courses. Thus, ends their life and their torment, by the liquid flowing through them via the catheter.

One Voice protests against such avoidable practices and demands their prohibition

According to our scientific consultants, this procedure is by no means necessary for the correct learning of these skills! We have written to the veterinary establishment where these sessions are organized to demand their immediate ban. This type of training organized with laboratories should no longer exist, we are working on it.

Let’s stop testing household products on animals!

Let’s stop testing household products on animals!
02.05.2018
Europe
Let’s stop testing household products on animals!
Animal testing

For the third time in a year, One Voice calls on the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation about the issue of household product testing on animals, but they remain silent. The goal of the European Union is to completely replace the procedures involving the use of live animals.

That’s it, since Friday April 27^th, Wallonia in Belgium, has put an end to conducting tests on animals for cosmetics, cleaning or hygiene products, etc. It is also committed to the implementation of a global plan for the gradual reduction of the number of animals used in laboratories and the development of alternative methods so that no animal is in the end used. This is part of a set of measures taken in the interest of the animals in the Belgian kingdom. This modernised animal welfare code assumes that the animal is a sensitive and sentient being.

The European Union is moving forward yet France stands still

In France, however, we have sent three letters to the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation since April 2017. We have requested that the toxicity tests of household products be banned on animals, in our capacity as a French association for the defence of animals, but also as French representatives of the ECEAE, principal European coalition campaigning on the problematic of animal experimentation. However, we still have no sign of life from the current Minister Frédérique Vidal, in fact the same as with Najat Vallaud-Belkacem before him.

The European directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes states, however, that the final objective of the European Union is the « complete replacement of the procedures applied to live animals for scientific and educational purposes ». We therefore urge our Minister to adopt a national plan for the effective implementation of the 3R’s (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) rule so that in the long run, no live animals are used for experimentation.

Good practices that should be the norm

The techniques of experimentation on the animals are today quite obsolete, alternative methods are being developed and are quite effective. There is therefore no fundamental interest in making the animals suffer, the analysis of the ingredients being sufficient to determine the dangerousness of these products.

As proof, brands of cleaning products like Étamine du Lys, La fourmi verte, L’arbre vert, or Pure have already been doing this for a long time. Their product lines have also been awarded the One Voice’s humane label, guaranteeing the absence of animal testing either before or after their design. Effective products can therefore have an almost neutral impact on the planet, and have been designed without cruelty to animals.

We would indeed and definitely like that these good practices became the norm, and that no more household products sold in France come from the result of rabbits, cats, dogs, mice or even monkeys suffering from experiments … Only the political will to act is lacking. Our leaders must take responsibility regarding these sentient beings who, like us, feel pain and fear.

The distress of Maya the elephant or the impotence of the law

The distress of Maya the elephant or the impotence of the law
01.05.2018
The distress of Maya the elephant or the impotence of the law

This Asia elephant who is over 50 years old continues to be exploited by the circus La Piste aux Stars, while several veterinarians attest that her health is in danger and she is in appalling suffering.

This Asia elephant who is over 50 years old continues to be exploited by the circus La Piste aux Stars, while several veterinarians attest that her health is in danger and she is in appalling suffering.

The
question of whether the detention of wild animals in circuses,
touring, dressage and shows are compatible with their development is
an issue that must be submitted to public deliberation. This question
will be decided in the coming months, so that we have a clear
legislative framework, as is the case in other countries. The purpose
of this forum is not to answer this question. We simply want to bring
this to the attention of the citizens and the public authorities via
a case that is emblematic of the stalemate in which we are
collectively in.

A tiny enclosure

Maya,
an Asian elephant who is over 50 years old and is being followed by
the One Voice association, continues to be transported and exploited
by the circus La Piste aux étoiles. While several veterinarians,
including the one who was instructed in February 2018 by Mrs.
Patricia Willaert the Prefect for Lot-et-Garonne, have testified that
because of her state of health, she can no longer be touring on the
road. The decree of 18 March 2011 laying down the conditions of
detention and use of non-domestic animals in itinerant shows is also
not respected.

As
can be seen from reading articles 22 and 26 of the decree, the
conditions of accommodation of circus animals must meet minimum
requirements (evacuation of urine, adequate litter disposal, an
enclosure ensuring the safety of the public outside of the shows and
during the shows). Sick or over-aged animals should no longer
participate in shows (Article 9). Anyone who sees Maya, whether in
her tiny pen or in the truck, understands that the law is not
respected. In addition, the authority of the Prefect is being
flouted. For she had asked that the circus leave Maya in her winter
quarters or transfer her to a sanctuary, for example to the sanctuary
Elephant Haven, Haute-Vienne. Here she has a place that has been
reserved since October 2017.

Double injustice

This
elephant, who suffers from her feet and has a stereotypical behaviour
confirming her state of madness to which her living conditions and
loneliness have led her to. It’s the symbol of a double injustice:
she has, for several years, been in a state of distress that cannot
leave anyone indifferent and the law in this case is helpless. Maya’s
suffering is tragic proof that when it comes to animals, laws are not
often applied. Moreover, when offenses are denounced by an
association, such as One Voice which since September 2016 has led
these investigations whose seriousness is indisputable. There is a
legal battle, and lawsuits that burden the budget of circuses and
make their situation even more difficult. However, the facts are
stubborn: the veterinarian mandated by the prefect reaches the same
conclusions as the international specialists to whom One Voice, in
September 2017, had entrusted expert observations: the state of
health of Maya is alarming, her diet and her conditions of detention
are not adapted to her needs and she suffers from bad feet, not to
mention an untreated abscess. The High Court of Strasbourg also
recognized on February 13 2018 that the work done by One Voice, which
the circus La Piste aux Étoiles had brought to court, was
legitimate: it authorized the association to continue its fight which
had already obtained in December 2017 the support of more than
100,000 people who signed the petition to free Maya
(#JusticePourMaya).

Traveling
shows are better than this game of hide-and-seek that drives some of
them outside of the law. It’s been a long time since anyone knew that
in some circus’s animals are abused. The animal welfare
associations campaign against the captivity of wild animals in
circuses but they cannot replace the legislator. Their primary
mission is to denounce situations of abuse and to bring it to the
public’s attention so that the fate of animals, which interests
more and more people, is known. Elephants, who everyone recognizes as
intelligent and majestic, whose species is threatened, will not
perish in indifference and that in the absence of a clear and
courageous political decision the existing laws are at least
respected.

The
specificity of an association like One Voice is to know how to
dialogue with the contributors to find solutions that are suitable
for everyone. It is not in the interest of the La Piste aux étoiles
circus to ruin itself in lawsuits or to lose any prestige in the eyes
of an audience which, even when it continues to go to see shows with
animals and does not tolerate their mistreatment. Muriel Arnal, the
president of One Voice, has provided substantial financial assistance
to Elephant Haven, based in Bussière-Galant, so that it can
accommodate Maya. Everything is ready for her and, anyway, she cannot
work anymore. Should we wait for her to die? Should we wait for an
accident? Should we agree with those who say that the path of reform,
dialogue and law is in vain and that only a scandal will change
things?

This
is not a balance of power between animal and circus advocates, but a
demand for justice: we want the law to be enforced. Maya must be able
to enjoy a well-deserved retirement. Or is it that we are no longer
in a state of law.

See the gallery of Corine Pelluchon and the signatories in Libération

Does Pinder hang up his whip in the locker room?

Does Pinder hang up his whip in the locker room?
30.04.2018
France
Does Pinder hang up his whip in the locker room?
Exploitation for shows

The Circus Pinder has cancelled several dates of performances (in May in Grenoble, Albertville, Valence …), and currently does not offer any dates for booking after April 2018! Is it – finally – the beginning of the end of circuses with animals?

According to the press, the circus has cancelled several dates of performance, and on its website, no reservation is possible after the month of April. A bystander told us what the circus told her, but from our side, having failed to reach the circus – all calls unanswered- we cannot confirm this information.

However, we can question this cancelled tour at a time when the legitimacy of the presence of the circus is questioned both by animal defenders and the public, who is turning more and more towards live shows without the exploitation of animals.

In any case, we are delighted that lions, lionesses, camels, zebras, donkeys, dogs and all the other animals of this circus are finally freed from the constraint of homelessness, from captivity in cramped cages, and from roadside car parks. When not touring, they live in a park, on the grass, in the Paris region.

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In several photographs of Jo-Anne McArthur, taken during our investigation last year, lionesses and lions show their fangs…

The big cats have visibly had enough of these constraints, the gaze from the crowds, these obligations, this life without freedom… in the constant contact of these humans, the sensitive ears struck by this thunderous music, eyes blinded by multi-coloured spot lights…

We also remember that it is very bad for the lions back to be ridden upon by a human animal like a moped, as does the trainer at every performance. It is not normal for a big cat or any other animal to obey a human primate, or to be stored as a tool in cages on the back of trucks. It is not natural either to be whipped and to obey under duress! No animal has to undergo such treatment.

And even if he were born in captivity, the need and the thirst for freedom remains unchanged!

While waiting to know more, demand circuses without animals!

Photos: One Voice/Jo-Anne McArthur WeAnimals

Tarpan and the ecological balance

Tarpan and the ecological balance
29.04.2018
France
Tarpan and the ecological balance
Natural habitat

The tarpan is a wild equine, probably the ancestor of our fellow horses. Introduced in our countryside, it provides ecological management of natural territories. Their return is orchestrated by the association ARTHEN that supports One Voice.

The tarpan

Tarpan, wild horses descended from the primitive European horse that populated some parts of Eastern Europe until the 19th century. After their disappearance in the wild, their descendants were found among small horses used by local farmers. It was a Polish scientist, Professor Vetulani who undertook to save the species. Today, they live wild in several countries where they are recognized for their major role in the maintenance of grasslands. In the Netherlands in particular, they are found in herds of dozens or even hundreds living on reserves where they are able to find their original way of life. In France, first imported into Lorraine, they are present in a few small reserves, mainly located in the central-east of the country. (Source: Arthen)

The place of herbivores

No offense to hunters, but the merits of the presence of a species is not limited to a label “fair game » and the primary role of large wild herbivores is not to finish on a plate. Because, know it or not, herbivores are managers of the landscapes which, by their grazing, maintain the open areas like the meadows. Certainly, their populations must be regulated; but as Nature knows best, hers plans don’t include Sunday hunters, but instead natural predators such as wolves, bears and lynx. They don’t just kill the most beautiful specimens so they can hang their heads as trophies on their living room walls. They kill the sick or fragile thus participating in the health of an ecosystem in its entirety. To take full measure of this phenomenon, there is nothing else like the famous video from Yellowstone, illustrating the renewal of an entire environment following the return of wolves…

The usefulness of tarpan

The establishment of the tarpan populations in France has undeniable advantages. In contrast to sheep farming, they do not need sanitary treatments, which, when released back into the wild via excrement are the source of dramatic chemical pollution of the micro fauna. They are also naturally resistant and do not need shelter or food supplements. They are wild animals therefore autonomous, independent of humans and with a high added value for the environment. In other words, they are natural managers of ecosystems; the only ones to be able to maintain or participate in the return of a sustainable balance, beneficial to biodiversity.

To act

One Voice supports the return of large herbivores such as the tarpan in France. It represents a major challenge to our society which only sees a species directly useful to humans if they are beneficial. Unlike extensive farming or pastoralism, which are not as ecologically friendly as we would like to believe (in addition to medical treatments, herds are also destroying vulnerable areas by trampling over them); only naturally regulated wild species are truly respectful of nature.

The Arthen association is raising funds today to build a new park in Bugey to accommodate a new group of tarpan. This natural area is “dry grassland » in the process of becoming brush wood because the land was formerly grazed and has now been abandoned for several decades. Tarpan can contribute to maintaining the ecological interest of this environment, which contains a particular flora and fauna: orchids, butterflies and shrike, etc.

Firstly the area must be fenced off and some adjustments made such as water points and a round up area. One Voice supports this project and hopes that many of you will mobilize to make it possible. To learn more and make a donation, go to Ulule.

American Mustangs, the last of the free horses

American Mustangs, the last of the free horses
28.04.2018
Etats Unis
American Mustangs, the last of the free horses
Wildlife

Subdued, trained, domesticated horses surround us. In each of them, however, vibrates the deep soul of the last free horses, the wild Mustangs of the American West. These proud beings, returned to the wild, must be protected.

Fear

Fear enlightens his big dark eyes and runs through the surface of his body long nervous shivers that make his shiny flanks shudder. To the east, in the distance the cry of a hunting puma echoes through the night. The wind has not yet carried their smell to the nostrils of the puma, but the wind can turn, it’s only a matter of time.

The oldest among the mare’s snorts. She raises her head, neighs shaking her mane and then gets to work. We must leave the pasture very quickly. All follow her at a trot, because they know that fear gives birth to the right choices. For the Mustangs, life is flight. Fear is wisdom. And this mare carries it in her.

The small herd goes up to a plateau

The wind blows hard, the grass is scarce. Dominated by the snow-capped peaks of the Rockies, Montana’s valleys are scattered far and wide around them, scoured by rivers, canyons and lakes, covered with woods and meadows. Drawing in silhouettes on the setting sun, several males follow the herd at a distance. They are teenagers chased out of their group, who roam the plains in search of mares to seduce and herds to be established.

A beautiful stallion with a white coat and dappled in black, who protects the herd does not hear it that way. Under the passionate eyes of the females, he approaches his first rival, a proud young chestnut and who sizes him up, chest against chest. Side by side, the two males engage in a sort of highly practiced dance, lifting the dust from the ground with great hooves and standing face to face on their hind legs. The tall dappled stallion steers his opponent away without fighting or biting, while the young male gallops off with his companions with an air of misfortune.

A long time ago, these colourful horses arrived from Europe, in the holds of the Conquistadors ships.

Some escaped and went wild again. The Cheyenne and the Sioux then captured them and gave them great respect. After the massacre of the Indian nations, horses were free again and some of them are still free today. It did not take long for the memories of humans to fade from their minds and their old manners to return to them as from the beginning. During the unions that are freely decided between male and female, their coats have donned all the colours of the rainbow and their bodies have become smaller, strong and fast in harmony with nature. Their hair is thicker, to counter the ferocious winters of the north-western United States.

Head bent over the grass but ears erect, six adult mares graze alongside the stallion who returns and calms down. It’s up to them to think, to take care of the young and to take care of the good management of daily life. The oldest is responsible for deciding departures and moments of rest. On this point, everyone trusts him, the stallion like the others.

Tonight, everyone will sleep standing in the field of wild grasses. The cougar has moved away but the threat remains and we must stay ready. Tomorrow, when the sun rises again, the small herd of Mustangs will set out again to other hills, other water points, other softer and tastier pastures.

This world of extreme vigilance, common to herbivores, is however a happy world. How peaceful are the days when one dreamily grazes the slopes of a green hill, while watchers watch over them! May they be sweet, those moments of love when the foal of the year comes to push his muzzle against the teat to feed from milk so good!

Peaceful beings, without borders, without territory, that of wild horses.

They are constantly going where the seasons lead them. But today, there are few places where they can still live without the saddle, bit, halter, lanyard or reins. Wherever they live, they are hunted, killed, eaten, captured, and trained. Only the mustangs in the United States remain, the brumbies of Australia, which are shot from helicopters, and some semi-wild herds in the Camargue. With Przewalski’s horses and the genetically reconstituted Tarpan, they are the last free horses on our planet. The only ones in which we can still sense the deep soul of our own slave horses…