News Archive - Page 127 of 145

To free Maya, a silent protest is being organized by One Voice in front of the circus that detains and exploits her, this Saturday, November 4th at 12.00 pm in Cannes!

To free Maya, a silent protest is being organized by One Voice in front of the circus that detains and exploits her, this Saturday, November 4th at 12.00 pm in Cannes!
04.11.2017
Cannes
To free Maya, a silent protest is being organized by One Voice in front of the circus that detains and exploits her, this Saturday, November 4th at 12.00 pm in Cannes!
Exploitation for shows

To free Maya, tens of thousands of people who have sided with her, in France and abroad, will be finally heard¹. We will be in front of the circus on Saturday November 4^th2017 in the car park of the Pierre de Coubertin stadium, Cannes, where Maya will be also be.

Indeed, against all logic, the interim judge has taken the side of the Prefect². The latter protects the circus instead of fulfilling its mission to protect the animals on its territory, therefore Maya, an old elephant stressed and weakened by more than 40 years of exploitation and captivity, still dragged from town to town ^{3, 4}!

We also continue to fight this legal battle for her: a complaint filed for acts of cruelty is under investigation⁵.

Our society is experiencing a paradigm, a shift towards animals, an awareness of their suffering in captivity is growing. This urgency is measured by our current knowledge! Internationally recognized elephant experts are unanimous about the seriousness of Maya’s condition.

Our citizens are more and more aware of the suffering inflicted upon captive animals, who are exploited by circuses⁶!

In only 3 days, at the call of One Voice, more than 200 people from all over France had gathered in the heart of Paris specifically for Maya⁷!

Circuses presenting animals to the public are, at best, unaware of the harm they are doing. They must accompany the changes instead of opposing them.

Many municipalities in France have already given up allowing circuses with animals to setup in their communities and more than fifty countries in Europe and around the world have already paved the way. It is time for France to ban once and for all the structured suffering of animals when they are held captive and exploited. This has been rightly pointed out by the Federation of European Veterinarians (FVE) and supported by the Fédération des Syndicates Vétérinaires de France (FSVF) and the National Association of Veterinarians⁸.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Photos and videos of Maya are available on request

THE HISTORY OF THE COMBAT FOR MAYA

1 Petition for the release of Maya posted on 23/10/17

2 One Voice at the Administrative Tribunal of Bordeaux: Hearing on October 17, 2017 to rule on the release of the elephant Maya from the circus that holds it – 16/10/17

3 Maya the elephant is exhausted! – 10/10/17

4 The torture of Maya – 10/07/17

5 One Voice in Justice for the release of the elephant Maya – 06/10/17

6 Petition for circuses without wild animals

7 The gathering for Maya the elephant, make her suffering be heard – 27/10/17

8 Announcement: In response to One Voice, the National Veterinary Order condemns wild animal shows in traveling circuses and legitimizes One Voice’s fight for their release – 11/10/17

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Rally for the elephant Maya: let us hear about her suffering!

Rally for the elephant Maya: let us hear about her suffering!
27.10.2017
Paris
Rally for the elephant Maya: let us hear about her suffering!
Exploitation for shows

Saturday, October 28th, at 3.00 pm Place du Québec, Paris 6th, One Voice organizes a silent gathering to ask #JusticeForMaya. Let us be many to ask for her withdrawal from the circus. We owe her a peaceful end of life!

Emergency for Maya

For several months, One Voice has been fighting for the elephant Maya whose situation is worsening day by day in the circus that is holding her. Following the appeal we filed for her, the Judge ruled in favour of the Prefect and the circus. This decision protects the circus and not the elephant it should normally guarantee safety.

According to them, Maya is doing very well.

It seems obvious to us that by simply looking at the images filmed last September, it is not possible to reach this conclusion: she is an emaciated silhouette, her visible wounds, its position … According to the specialists, her very fast swaying’s are not only related to her mental suffering. She is but a shadow of an elephant; you cannot doubt for a moment her pain?

True abuse – One Voice does not give up!

Dr. John Knight, an international wildlife veterinarian that we consulted says that Maya’s condition is shameful. That she has an urgent need for veterinary and behavioural care and that her chains and her isolation are mistreatment! He goes so far as to ask the question of euthanasia if nothing was to be done to improve Maya’s life. One Voice will fight to the end for her. Our legal team is preparing new actions, including appeals as early as November, with new opinions from international experts.

We will never give up on Maya! She is suffering, she needs us all. This is a real case of urgency. How long can she hold on in this circus?

See you tomorrow Saturday for Maya

Together, let us hear about the misery of this elephant with a silent gathering and have the petition signed by as many people as possible to ask the President of the Republic to intervene for her emergency withdrawal from the circus and her transfer to a sanctuary.

Savoie: 3 wolves killed illegally

Savoie: 3 wolves killed illegally
18.10.2017
Savoie: 3 wolves killed illegally
Wildlife

The judge of interim measures for Grenoble, was seized as a matter of urgency in 2015, had refused at the time to suspend the licenses to
shoot to kill. 3 of the 6 « killable » wolves were quickly shot by hunters during the hunt: one adult male on October 17^th, 2015 in Saint Colomban-des-Villards, a young male the next day in Saint-André en Maurienne and a Cub on December 5^that Valmeinier.

The Administrative Tribunal is following our argument today: this shooting was not justified; these wolves were therefore illegally killed. ASPAS, FERUS and One Voice will seek compensation for the ecological damage suffered.

The administrative judge recalls that the hunting of wolves cannot be allowed if everything has not been implemented to protect herds at risk of predation. There are indeed means of protection for herds and a scale of shootings that the prefects can authorize. These shootings aim to kill wolves, a protected species, only as a last resort, and only if damage persists despite the implementation of all means of protection and defensive fire.

More than unequal, the death of these wolves was also a useless exercise! Thus, the attacks were more numerous after the execution of these wolves: 181 attacks yielding 848 victims from January 1^stto October 15^th, 2015, against 229 attacks yielding 1 300 victims the following year over the same period (source: DREAL Auvergne- Rhône-Alpes – Damage data: comparative 2016, 2015 and 2014 from January 1^stto October 15^th).

Killing wolves does not help to reduce the damage, this is also noted by the expert who was commissioned by the National Museum of Natural History and the National Office of Hunting and Wildlife, so the solution of slaughter does not work!

To permit the coexistence between faunistic biodiversity and pastoralism, a profound change in farming practices and the French subsidy system – which currently does not sufficiently encourage the good practices of certain breeders – is indeed necessary.

ASPAS, FERUS and One Voice renew their request to stop the shooting of wolves, and to cancel the compensation paid to breeders who do not protect their animals.

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One voice at the administrative court of Bordeaux: hearing on 17 october 2017 to rule on the liberation of the elephant Maya from the circus who holds her

One voice at the administrative court of Bordeaux: hearing on 17 october 2017 to rule on the liberation of the elephant Maya from the circus who holds her
16.10.2017
Bordeaux
One voice at the administrative court of Bordeaux: hearing on 17 october 2017 to rule on the liberation of the elephant Maya from the circus who holds her
Exploitation for shows

On October 3, One Voice filed a summary « appropriate measures » to the Administrative Tribunal of Bordeaux, to request that the prefect of Lot-et-Garonne be summoned to remove the elephant Maya from the circus that holds, and to give the association One Voice the last three reports concerning the state of health, obviously alarming thereof, under penalty of 1000 euros per day of delay. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, October 17th, 2017 at 14:30 at the TA Bordeaux to discuss our request for formal notice of the Prefect.

One Voice is pleased that the Bordeaux interim judge has agreed to set the hearing, even if it does not prejudge the outcome of the hearing. We recall that this referral takes place in a set of measures implemented by the association One Voice following many reports about Maya, to try to save this old elephant, exploited by itinerant circuses for more than four decades, her stereotypical movements and carrying multiple scars, a subject of which moves our fellow citizens a lot¹.

One Voice filed a complaint with the public prosecutor for acts of cruelty² after commissioning a report from a specialized wildlife veterinarian. His opinion on Maya is precise, well-argued and without appeal³: « (…) the conditions of deprivation of liberty in which Maya is maintained are totally inadequate and are the result of animal cruelty. Her state of health is extremely alarming and urgent, and must be evaluated by an independent elephant veterinarian designated by the authorities to establish a therapeutic and nutritional plan to improve her state of emergency. If not, I think Maya’s chances of survival in the short term are greatly compromised. (…) »

Two weighty institutions legitimize One Voice’s fight for circus animals

On October 10th, 2017⁴ the association received the opinion of the National Veterinary Order, through the voice of its President, Veterinary Doctor Jacques Guérin, and on October 13th, 2017, that of the Federation of Veterinary Syndicates of France (FSVF) signed by its President, the veterinary doctor Jean-Yves Gauchot⁵.

These two opinions converge, and legitimize our fight for Maya (but also for other elephants for which we also fight⁶, and for Jumbo the hippopotamus⁷, etc.) by declaring to adhere to the recommendation of the Federation of European Veterinarians (FVE).

The two Presidents write, respectively, « to promote the prohibition« , or « the strict and definitive prohibition » of « the use of wild mammals in itinerant circuses« , and both confirm that the « conditions under which the animals are held do not meet their physiological and social needs”.

Muriel Arnal, President-founder of One Voice, recipient of these letters, called on the Minister of Ecology, Nicolas Hulot, requesting that the state draws all the consequences of these opinions and takes its responsibilities as a matter of urgency. « From this position, the State will have to explain to us how their veterinary inspectors can report on the welfare of animals in circuses. The same goes for the veterinary practitioners who came to Tours at the circus festival, or on other occasions to say that everything was going well. Who are they kidding? Meanwhile animals are withering and dying in trailers! I will do everything in my power to get Maya out of this unbearable daily life, and make her last moments of life be those of an elephant, far from chains and roads. I hope the judge will hear the urgency of our appeal. »

Lawyer Arielle Moreau, the legal representative of the association, says: « The administrative court does not systematically grant hearings for this type of procedure. This is not to say that we will necessarily win our Maya withdrawal application, but we should at least get the inspection reports back. We will take this opportunity to ask for explanations on the inertia of the services of the State which refuse to move while an elephant is in great suffering« .

Fighting animal suffering and finding solutions: a place of welcome for Maya

The President of the FSVF reaches out to animal welfare associations to change practices, support the existing, and find sustainable solutions for the reception of animals including domestic. One Voice always has the well-being and the future of the saved animals at heart, so we partner with shelters or sanctuaries to offer them a suitable home. These opinions which legitimize the association’s fight in our desire to relieve animals from the yoke of the circuses are a great encouragement to continue in this direction.

In Parallel to the legal steps, assuming that she is removed from the circus urgently, we have thus reserved a place for Maya with our partner⁸ the Elephant Haven, a sanctuary for rescued elephants from circuses in Limousin, on October 9th².

¹ Petition against circuses with animals
² Maya press release of 6/10/2017 on the state of health and legal action for Maya
³ Video on the veterinarian’s report on the state of Maya (09/2017)
Article on Maya (07/2017) and report of 2016
⁴ Letter from the National Association of Veterinarians
⁵ Letter from the Federation of Veterinarians of France
⁶ Article on the unprecedented procedure concerning the deprivation of liberty of 5 elephants including Maya (May 2017)
⁷ Jumbo Information
⁸ History of our fight against animal circuses and our support for Elephant Haven

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2017: Gucci says no to fur!

2017: Gucci says no to fur!
11.10.2017
France
2017: Gucci says no to fur!
Fashion

Fur: Gucci has been convinced by the work of One Voice and its partners in the Fur Free Alliance. The brand ends the use of animal fur.

One Voice is pleased to announce that after years of working with their Fur Alliance partners, Gucci has decided to permanently stop the use of animal fur in its collections!

Long-term work for the Fur Free Alliance and in particular LAV in Italy

It took 7 years of work from the members of the FFA (Fur Free Alliance), including HSUS in the United States and LAV in Italy, to get this beautiful commitment from Gucci! This great fashion name, who initially wanted only to reduce its use of fur and restrict the number of species used, finally decided to sign the fur-free convention of Fur Free Retailer.

A definitive commitment against the use of animal fur

Gucci has chosen to put a definitive end to the use of animal fur from its spring / summer 2018 collection. For One Voice and its FFA partners, it’s a huge win for mink, foxes, rabbits and all other animals that will be spared by this decision.

A step closer to an ethical fashion

Gucci joins in our program Fur Free Retailer, major brands that have already committed, such as Armani, Hugo Boss, Franck Sorbier, La Redoute and more than 800 others. Help us grow the Fur Free Retailer network for ethical fashion by passing on this information.

Historical announcement: in an answer to One Voice, the national order of veterinarians condemns wild animal shows in roaming circuses and thus legitimizes one voice’s combat for their release

The National Order of Veterinarians, “organization empowering the exercise of the veterinary profession in France [and] the guarantor of the competence of professionals and their ethics”, takes a stand in the fight that leads One Voice to release wild circus animals, including elephants Maya and Lechmee and hippopotamus Jumbo.

Maya the elephant is at her end!

Maya the elephant is at her end!
10.10.2017
France
Maya the elephant is at her end!
Exploitation for shows

Will it be that Maya collapses one day so that the public finally grasps the horror of her situation? A recent veterinary report tells us that this old elephant is now exhausted. One Voice files a complaint for acts of cruelty.

Will it be that Maya collapses one day so that the public finally grasps the horror of her situation? A recent veterinary report tells us that this old elephant is now exhausted. One Voice files a complaint for acts of cruelty.

Born in freedom 54 years ago, Maya has gone from circus to circus and from trailer to marquee throughout her life. But it is likely to end soon, according to the report of a Veterinarian consultant for One Voice, who considers her condition extremely alarming. This weekend, our investigators were on site. Despite our cry of warning, nothing has changed, except two jailers who now monitor her…

Her thinness is scary to see. Her limbs have become so thin that they hardly seem to be able to support her. Her limbs supporting her weight are in terrible pain, by adopting these aberrant postures to make children laugh. Many wounds cover her head and shoulders. Blows from billhooks during training? Finally, while elephants love to be in a group, in large families, Maya is isolated in a tiny pen. The circus claims she is in heat, but that seems unlikely at her age. On the other hand, her mental distress has clearly worsened. More than ever, Maya suffers from violent stereotypical disorders. She « senses » the air and surroundings without end the emptiness with her trunk. How could it be otherwise? Nothing distracts her from her abysmal boredom, except for a bundle of straw and tarmac floor soaking in urine under her chained legs.

The Veterinarian concludes: The conditions of Maya’s detention are animal cruelty. This elephant must be placed urgently in a sanctuary adapted to her needs, as the law and ethics require. If not, she will die.

From this alarming observation will soon come the previous reports of the Veterinary Inspection relating to Maya. The Administrative Documents Access Commission will allow us to access them soon, following our request dated May 15th, 2017.

Together with a complaint of cruelty, One Voice also filed an application to the Administrative Court concerned, to request that the Prefect be summoned, under penalty of 1000 euros per day, to withdraw Maya from the circus and hand over to the association the last three reports concerning the elephant’s state of health.

Maya is exhausted; One Voice will do everything to save her! Already, we have reserved her place in the Elephant Haven sanctuary that is ready to receive her in any emergency.

One voice in legal action for the release of the elephant Maya

One voice in legal action for the release of the elephant Maya
06.10.2017
Agen
One voice in legal action for the release of the elephant Maya
Exploitation for shows

The One Voice association lodges a complaint with the Prosecutor of Agen for acts of cruelty to an animal held in captivity. It also files a reference « appropriate measures » to the Administrative Tribunal of Bordeaux, to request that the prefect of Lot-et-Garonne be summoned, under penalty of 1000 euros per day, to withdraw Maya from the circus and to hand over to the association the last three reports about Maya’s obviously alarming state of health.

One Voice is holding a press conference at Elephant Haven Elephant Sanctuary on Monday, October 9th at 11.00 am ¹ to report on the release of the detained circus elephant Maya and her urgent transfer to the sanctuary.

Following numerous reports about Maya, one of the elephants from a « traditional » circus, the association asked a veterinarian to make an assessment of the animal from several videos taken by investigators. This sounded the alarm bells: « (…) the conditions of detention in which Maya is maintained are totally inadequate and fall well within the title of animal cruelty. Her health is extremely alarming and increases the urgency, and should be evaluated by a team of independent and specialized elephant veterinarians, appointed by the authorities to establish urgently a therapeutic and nutritional plan to improve her condition. If not, I think Maya’s chances of survival in the short term are greatly compromised. (…) »

Faced with this overwhelming report the association One Voice immediately filed a complaint to the Public Prosecutor for an act of cruelty, and also asked the administrative court to order the Prefect to fulfil its mission of protection of animals.

If these steps do not succeed, the association considers other actions because it is just inconceivable that the basic rights of this elephant are so flouted.

Finally, in the perspective of her rescue, the association made the decision to reserve a place for Maya in the Elephant Haven, whose team said it is ready to welcome the elephant as soon as it is released, even in the case of an emergency.

¹ Press conference at Elephant Haven – Monday 9th October at 11am with:

Muriel Arnal, president of One Voice

The Elephant Haven Sanctuary Team

Arielle Moreau, lawyer for One Voice

Pierre Gallego, wildlife Consultant Veterinarian for One Voice

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40 legalized killings of wolves: One Voice opposes this

40 legalized killings of wolves: One Voice opposes this
03.10.2017
France
40 legalized killings of wolves: One Voice opposes this
Wildlife

The list of slaughtered wolves continues to grow. 40 is the quota authorized by the government: we are at 19 today. One Voice no longer supports the announcement of all these deaths: stop the massacre of a species already too fragile and put in place solutions respectful of these beings and that of the environment.

The institutionalized death of 40 wolves

Wolf are you there? Can you hear me? Not sure he is still around, if we take the path of the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Solidarity, who authorizes in the decree of July 18^th, 2017 the « levy » of 40 wolves without distinction of age or gender within French territory. In other words, the annual measure makes it possible to kill indiscriminately about forty individuals of this species in order not to hinder pastoral activities. 19 have already paid the price, there are only 21 left! But finally, what about the 40 or so of an entire population, will you tell us about this?

Wolves: a species to protect

Many, knowing that 300 is the estimate of the total number of wolves in France and has been so for three years.It’s enough that the species passes the 34% mortality mark to stop its population from growing and to begin a downward trend towards its disappearance. And of course, it is to count these deaths without considering the natural and accidental deaths (accidents of the road) of these magnificent animals. Obviously, protecting them should be a priority, but the government does not see it that way.

An ineffective method to protect herds

The ministry preferred to focus on pastoral activities and this is not the first time. Culling wolves is supposed to reduce the damage caused by these predators on sheep flocks. However, today, no figure allows to affirm that the method is effective. According to the ESCo reports, the impact would even be counterproductive. So even if killing a wolf reduces the size of a pack, it does not diminish its hunting territory. And, as a result of the instability generated by the death of one of their own, wolves live in search of empty spaces and form new groups. The damage caused by them is undeniable, but have we thought of more effective solutions?

Alternatives to unjustified killings

Alternatives exist, but before being implemented, they imply « to consider animals other than interchangeable representatives of a species considered homogeneous ».

To be clearer, it is essential to study wolves not only in packs but also as individuals in their own right. These sentient animals also have an intellectual complexity and a variety of behaviours with their peers. The size of the territories, the survival of the litters, the dispersion rate of the wolves differs from one group to the another. If we took the time to observe them, it would be possible to learn to send them intelligible messages or to carry out a targeted and non-violent sampling of threatening individuals after a rigorous surveillance.

In the short term, proven prevention methods can be used. They consist of setting up guarding and enhanced surveillance of herds, or investing in equipment for restraint pens.

Wolves: benefactors for the benefit of the ecosystem

In the collective imagination, wolves are associated with animals arousing dismay and fear. However, for those who want to take a closer look, these are beautiful animals with a sense of smell 20,000 times greater than ours, defending their family and managing to unify their pack with nothing but their howling! Wolves are an integral part of our ecosystem and help maintain its balance. On the other hand, pastoral activity is far from being beneficial for the ecosystem: it causes the degradation of high-altitude grasslands, and contributes to the impoverishment of the fauna and flora. Not to mention that it perpetuates the exploitation of cattle, sheep and goats …

Stop the slaughter of wolves and find more respectful solutions! But before being able to implement alternatives, One Voice appealed to the State Council to demand right now the cancellation of Article 1 of the decree, namely the slaughter of 40 individuals from July 2017 to June 2018.

Jo and Liberty: two cows, two destinies

Jo and Liberty: two cows, two destinies
02.10.2017
France
Jo and Liberty: two cows, two destinies
Other campaign or multi-campaigns of One Voice

They both felt fear. Coming from this windowless hell were cries, noise, and screams of pain mixed with the odour of blood and entrails. Jo and Liberty didn’t want to go in. Jo fell, Liberty fled…

Jo fell from the van. Just a calf, he broke his pelvis falling on the floor. He was then pulled across a « rough surface, » he had to get up. But how can you when your tendons are broken, and your muscles torn? No-one bent down to help him, support him, speak to him, or to shorten his suffering. So Jo stayed on the bare concrete, in the pouring rain for almost two days. The abattoir’s neighbour, the Society for the Protection of Animals, was helpless. The management ignored the societies request to act. The manager of the establishment was taken to court. We are waiting for the judgement at the end of June.

Liberty was luckier. In June 2005, this beautiful blonde cow from the Aquitaine region, distraught at the odour of blood, jumped over the barriers to escape from the Auch abattoir, then ran as fast as she could, as far away as possible from this house of horror… Hungry, she found herself in a much appreciated lush green garden. She hoped for a bit of peace but it is not easy for a cow to hide! Her executioners managed to find her and took her back to the abattoir but upon examination the vet said she was too stressed – adrenaline ruins the taste of meat. So her slaughter was delayed to the next day. For One Voice, it was the beginning of a fierce battle. Here followed twenty-four hours of tough negotiations, intense pressure, and an interview with Arthur
(a well-known French TV and radio presenter) and Muriel Arnal! Thanks to media and public support in a time when social networks did not exist, Liberty was saved. For ten years, she lived happily in one of the member’s sanctuaries. She died peacefully from old age at the end of a happy life.

The real taste of meat is the taste of fear. Whether the cow is brought up in a field, treated well, nurtured, fed on the best grains, or has lived the nightmare of industrial farming: the issue remains the same. From birth, the calf is condemned to death on a precise date, determined by its race or function, milk producer, steak or pale child flesh. No other destiny is possible other than to finish on death row, at the end of a more or less short life. When a cow escapes, as Liberty did, the law refuses her the right to live out her life in a welcoming sanctuary. She must die, because she has been born for that, she has been fed for that and she cannot represent a loss on an investment.

Today, French consumers are more and more affected by the question of animal well-being. Certain people refuse to go to a dolphinarium, because of the suffering of the dolphins there. Others refuse to consume palm oil, because orangutans die for it to be produced. Without doubt it is time for us to confront another truth which is just as cruel and is much closer to home: meat is the remains of an assassinated animal person. These muscles are taken from a cow with big soft black eyes, who would also have loved to graze with his friends in a big field, or play childhood games, where death will only befall naturally. « Everyone is scared of death », said the Buddha, « everyone wants happiness ». This is also true for cows!