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We’re going back to court for 16,000 jackdaws targeted in Brittany

We’re going back to court for 16,000 jackdaws targeted in Brittany

We’re going back to court for 16,000 jackdaws targeted in Brittany 15.07.2024
We’re going back to court for 16,000 jackdaws targeted in Brittany Hunting

In the Finistère and Côtes-d’Armor departments, 16,000 jackdaws are at risk of being culled in the coming months. Despite their protection at European and national level. Once again, we are attacking these decrees!

Jackdaws shot by the thousands: a protected species, really?

In the middle of the nesting season, even though the young have just been born and are still in their nests, hunters will be able to shoot thousands of jackdaws in the coming weeks. Even though all the studies show that culling is not an effective solution to the damage attributed to them. In fact, in the neighboring department of Morbihan, our unfailing commitment has led to a drastic reduction in the number of birds targeted.

Mass culling, a policy that doesn’t work

Cruel and ineffective: that’s how to describe the actions of the prefects of the Finistère and Côtes-d’Armor departments. Besides, they themselves admit that last year’s mass culls had no effect. Perhaps they should have listened to us, as we keep repeating: all scientific studies show that killing birds has no impact on reducing crop damage, either at plot level or at departmental level.

Basically, it’s all about appeasing farmers at little cost, since the lives of animals, even protected ones, are obviously of no value to the prefects. All the while knowing full well that the measures implemented will not work. One more tartuffery!

Shooting protected birds when other solutions exist: no!

There are a thousand ways of preventing birds from feeding in the fields, but none of them have been seriously studied. In the Finistère department, the prefect limits himself to pointing out that they would be too long and complex. Obstructing chimneys, where these birds like to nest, too long and too complex? It’s the last straw, given the ease with which thousands of protected birds can be slaughtered…

In 2022, our appeals saved almost 27,000 birds in extremis. Although last year the courts refused to suspend these decisions as a matter of urgency, our actions have nonetheless made it possible, year after year, to significantly reduce quotas. We are therefore once again taking legal action against the decrees issued by the prefects of the Finistère and Côtes-d’Armor departments!

One Voice files a complaint for two snakes exhibited by a dancer from one party to the next

One Voice files a complaint for two snakes exhibited by a dancer from one party to the next

One Voice files a complaint for two snakes exhibited by a dancer from one party to the next
One Voice files a complaint for two snakes exhibited by a dancer from one party to the next
Wildlife generics.video.play

The “jungle” parties come one after the other, and each one looks dismally similar. On Saturday June 15, the Le Maho nightclub in Ancenis-Saint-Géréon, Loire-Atlantique, allowed a trainer to display two snakes on a dance floor, under blinding spotlights. This was a totally illegal act, but she is no stranger to it. We have lodged a complaint against her and her company, as well as against two establishments that have recently used her services. And we demand that the animals be seized!

An animal who seemed “distraught at times”: that’s what this whistle-blower was surprised to discover when she went to the “jungle” party organized by Le Maho nightclub last month. There, between two fire breather acts, she saw a dancer strutting before the crowd with a snake. In fact, there wasn’t one, but two. And when she wasn’t presenting them in turn coiled around her or resting on her shoulders, she was even brandishing them above her head while spinning around. This was enough to completely disorientate animals already exposed to the lights and vibrations emitted by a drunken crowd.

An illegal exploitation that never stopped

These “shows”, in addition to being cruel, have been totally illegal since the November 2021 anti-maltreatment law prohibits the presentation of animals in nightclubs. A text that doesn’t seem to concern the owner of the two reptiles: on her Instagram account, we can see that since 2015, she has never stopped exploiting animals in festive environments that are anything but natural for them. 

And nightclub managers are making the most of it. Last February, it was the New Vegas Club in La-Croix-en-Touraine that welcomed her. And it makes no secret of it: on its Facebook page, photos show that the two snakes were twiddled all evening long. Carried by party-goers or placed on their shoulders, they were touched by no less than thirty people. We can only imagine the stress they must have felt in such an overexcited atmosphere, where an accident could have happened at any moment… 

In November 2023, we had already lodged a complaint for a python and a cockatoo who had been photographed and handled by night owls at a discotheque in Perpignan. This time again, we’re defending animals treated as commonplace objects of entertainment. We are filing a complaint against the owner of the snakes, her company and the establishments Le Maho and The New Vegas Show. And we demand that the animals be seized and entrusted to us, so that they can finally be placed in an environment that respects their needs.

Underground badger hunting: 10 new victories and more hearings to come!

Underground badger hunting: 10 new victories and more hearings to come!

Underground badger hunting: 10 new victories and more hearings to come!
Underground badger hunting: 10 new victories and more hearings to come!
Hunting

In the Cher, Loir-et-Cher, Eure-et-Loir, Loiret, Allier, Finistère, Corrèze, Calvados, Aube and Charente-Maritime departments, the courts have sided with the animals by cancelling or suspending the supplementary periods for underground venery set by the prefectures. Cornered in their burrows and seized by metal pliers before being finished off, the badgers who fall victim to this cruel practice are living a hellish existence, to which the courts are now objecting, all the more so as the young badgers, who are only a few months old at this time of year, are endangered and often illegally killed. On the strength of these court rulings, which protect animals in accordance with the law, we are announcing new hearings!

After suspension, orders definitively canceled

In 2023, we had 80% of the decrees allowing badgers to be hunted in their burrows from May to September, in addition to the rest of the year, suspended as a matter of urgency. Thanks to our legal action, more than 4,000 badgers were saved and were able to raise their young without fear. But we still had to obtain the annulment of these texts. This has now been achieved in the Loir-et-Cher, Eure-et-Loir and Loiret departments, where the Orléans administrative court ruled in our favor on June 20. At the same time, it also annulled the supplementary period authorized in the Cher department, this time in 2024, after it had been suspended!

In these four departments, the judges once again stressed that hunters’ practices were endangering young badgers, who are still vulnerable at this time of year and protected by law. They also pointed out that the prefecture had not provided sufficient evidence of the damage allegedly caused by these animals. And in the Finistère department, the decree authorizing a supplementary period of underground hunting for 2024 was annulled by the Rennes administrative court on July 5 for lack of a sufficient presentation note. So, permits to kill are handed out lightly…

Finally, on July 11, the Limoges administrative court also handed down its decision, annulling the 2023 decree by which the Corrèze prefect had set a supplementary period of underground hunting from June 15 to September 14, 2023.

With each new attempt by the State, we continue to attack in a hurry!

Wherever hunters insist on tormenting badgers all summer long, despite the illegality of the practice, we are there! That’s what we did when we joined forces with AVES and ASPAS to challenge the decree issued by the Charente-Maritime prefecture authorizing the digging up of badgers from June 1 to September 7. On July 1, the Poitiers administrative court suspended the order. Having heard our arguments, the judges insisted on the fact that the young were still far from being emancipated when they were weaned, and depended on their parents until the end of their first autumn. Killing their parents and destroying their burrows therefore put them in direct danger.

In the Allier department, the Clermont-Ferrand administrative court also suspended the decree issued on May 23, 2024 authorizing the digging up of badgers from July 1 to the general opening of the hunting season. This decision, handed down on July 5, also stressed that the supplementary period was “likely to harm young badgers who were not yet emancipated and the badger population in general”.

And thanks to the decision we obtained hand in hand with AVES and ASPAS from the Caen administrative court on July 10, badgers in the Calvados department, targeted by underground hunters since June 15, will once again be safe until September. Finally, on July 11, the administrative court of Châlons-en-Champagne also suspended the supplementary period of underground hunting that was underway in the Aube department.

Some courts still ignore the law

In the Mayenne and the Loire-Atlantique departments, the Nantes administrative court has remained deaf to our arguments. On July 1, it announced that it was rejecting our requests for suspension.

The same thing happened in the Ille-et-Vilaine department, where the court refused to annul the prefectural decree of January 2023 on the grounds that badgers had been observed during the counts… And this despite the fact that the French National Hunting and Wildlife Commission (ONCFS), which has since become the French Biodiversity Commission (OFB), considers that counting is not a reliable method for estimating the conservation status of their populations… 

In the Ardennes department, the administrative court of Châlons-en-Champagne also rejected the request for suspension that we had formulated alongside AVES and ASPAS concerning a supplementary period of underground hunting from June 1 to September 14. Delivered on July 8, its decision is surprising, to say the least: the judges have authorized hunters to kill badgers… with the exception of female badgers and any animal weighing less than 8 kilos. Are we to understand that they expect hunters to go into the forest with scales and weigh each individual before deciding whether to kill them or release them back into the ruins of their burrow? As underground hunters are never checked, they alone will decide how to proceed…

More hearings to come

We’re not stopping there. On July 11, we were present at the Orléans administrative court, alongside AVES and ASPAS, to seek an emergency suspension of the digging in the Eure-et-Loir department, as we had already succeeded in doing last year.

On July 15, at 11:20 a.m., we’ll be making the same request to the Limoges administrative court concerning the authorized stalking from June 15 to September 14 in the Haute-Vienne department. We’ll also be defending badgers on July 22 at 3pm, at the Poitiers administrative court for the Deux-Sèvres department, and finally on August 2 at 11:30am at the Limoges administrative court for the Creuse and Corrèze departments.

To support us in our fight for badgers, ask for a ban on underground hunting by signing our petition.

Photo : Nicolas Bazerque

Beaten dogs about to be returned to their torturer, or when the authorities don’t care about animals

Beaten dogs about to be returned to their torturer, or when the authorities don’t care about animals

Beaten dogs about to be returned to their torturer, or when the authorities don’t care about animals
09.07.2024
Beaten dogs about to be returned to their torturer, or when the authorities don’t care about animals
Zoe Cell generics.video.play

Gard, May 29, 2024. The Nîmes SPA is entrusted with the care of Pepa, 7 months old, and Kailye, 7 years old. The two staffies had been taken from their owner a few hours earlier, due to severe mistreatment filmed the day before. A complaint was lodged immediately. Today, however, the Calvisson police are demanding that the Nîmes SPA return them, even though an investigation is underway. We have filed a complaint and urge the courts to confiscate the dogs permanently.

It was the video recorded by a neighbor that saved Pepa, victim of a violent rampage last May. Alerted, the police went to the scene and removed two terrorized dogs from the home, taking them to the SPA in Nîmes for safekeeping.

On the spot, the perpetrator explained that this was not a case of mistreatment, but of “correction”, as Pepa had nibbled on the electric wires of the gate. There is no justification for such acts against an animal, even less so under the pretext of training.

Taken to the vet, the physical injuries are fortunately minor, but the psychological trauma is immense. Both dogs are very fearful, especially of men. For over a month, Pepa and Kailye have been cared for and pampered by shelter staff, and are slowly regaining their confidence.

But today, surprise: a call from the Calvisson police station to the SPA indicates that they must be returned. In fact, they belong to the defendant’s girlfriend, who lives with him. It doesn’t matter to the authorities that the two canine victims will be returning to the same house as their tormentor. If you had any doubts, this is further proof that animals are treated like objects: property rights take precedence over their protection. Admittedly, this woman is not the perpetrator of the blows, and yes, the animals are identified in her name, but how can it be acceptable to send them back to the home of the man who tyrannizes them until the case has been judged?

For Pepa and Kailye, we are filing a complaint. We’re asking for them to be permanently confiscated, so that they can never be beaten again. Sign our petition so that our companions can finally benefit from effective penal protection.

One Voice defends Barny against scare shots

One Voice defends Barny against scare shots

One Voice defends Barny against scare shots
One Voice defends Barny against scare shots
Wildlife

The State registered him as M 129. We named him Barny. On May 21, 2024, a two-year-old male bear had the misfortune to cross paths with humans. Although the encounter didn’t seem to frighten him, he didn’t show any sign of aggressiveness and hasn’t been seen since. But that’s all it took for the Ariège prefecture to demand the use of scare shots. We immediately attacked this text, and will be requesting its suspension at  the Toulouse Administrative Court on Thursday July 4, at 2pm.

Barny risks becoming the target of rubber bullets or violent detonations, as do any other bear with “characteristics” similar to his own. All this to teach him to fear humans and make him flee… even though he hadn’t been seen for more than three weeks when the document was published, and six today!

Authorities blinded by their anti-bear frenzy…

The prefecture’s obstinacy in persecuting an individual who keeps his distance from humans is a reflection of its relentless policy against these animals. As long ago as 2022, the department tried to force through decrees that went against a previous court ruling, in order to terrorize the bears at all costs. This was repeated at the end of summer 2023, when the court once again had to call the prefecture to order. But for the prefect, it doesn’t matter if measures like detonations can cause hearing damage or risk separating cubs from their mothers, as long as it’s in the interests of the farmers.

… even though the State is responsible for their presence

Yet it was the State that was keen to reintroduce these animals to France. So much so that, “in the name of biodiversity”, it snatched individuals from their Slovenian forests and released them in the Pyrenees, where breeders and hunters have been working hard ever since to make life impossible for them. From the outset, we firmly opposed this idea. To no avail: while in 2018, the French Ministry of Ecological Transition was delighted that new bears were continuing to join our territory, it was still signing ministerial decrees authorizing the scaring of these same animals on an experimental basis. Since then, the bears, who never asked to be there, never stopped being harassed. 

For Barny and his companions, we will be present at the Toulouse Administrative Court on July 4 at 2pm.

One Voice reveals images of mice subjected to the forced swim test in France

One Voice reveals images of mice subjected to the forced swim test in France

One Voice reveals images of mice subjected to the forced swim test in France
28.06.2024
One Voice reveals images of mice subjected to the forced swim test in France
Animal testing

At Magendie Neurocentre, on the premises of the University of Bordeaux, mice are being forced to swim. The aim? To measure the time after which they give up all hope of living, with a view to studying the efficacy of molecules against depression, at a time when promising alternatives are largely under-funded. While INSERM put forward the most fallacious arguments to guarantee the laboratory’s opacity (such as the defense of “copyright”), our victory in court today enables us to reveal the images of these “tests”.

Forced swimming: despair on the menu

Once removed from their tiny, overcrowded cages and inoculated with the molecule whose efficacy is being measured, each mouse is plunged into a water-filled tube. They begin by swimming frantically to try and find a way out, unsuccessfully trying to find holds to climb against the smooth walls. After long minutes of intense stress and panic, exhausted, they give up.

Just two years ago, we published images of these tests carried out in the USA. Today, after a battle against the laboratory’s desire to maintain the omerta on these practices, we can state with certainty that mice in France are suffering the same fate.

Repeated malfunctions and constant suffering at the Magendie Neurocenter

In addition to the experiments, the animals held and the humans working there have to put up with numerous malfunctions at the facility: flooding and fire safety problems, tropical temperatures and humidity in the animal house… A few days ago, we demanded an immediate inspection! These revelations undoubtedly prompted the center to quickly send us the images of forced swimming…

At a time when European law requires, among other things, that the number of animals in laboratories be “reduced” and “replaced” as far as possible, and that experiments be “refined”, we demand that the authorities massively fund alternative methods! If, like three out of four French people, you are opposed to animal experimentation (IPSOS/One Voice 2023 poll), demand an end to these tests in France!

generics.video.play

The fight for Samba goes on, new complaint for the last French circus elephant

The fight for Samba goes on, new complaint for the last French circus elephant

The fight for Samba goes on, new complaint for the last French circus elephant
The fight for Samba goes on, new complaint for the last French circus elephant
Circuses

Thanks to a report, we found Samba. In mid-June, the Cirque d’Europe had taken up residence in Illiers-Combray, Eure-et-Loir, for a few days. For the first time, Samba was shown from the sky, and the smallness of her enclosure as well. We are filing a new complaint on the basis of these images, and are calling for her to be placed in a sanctuary.

Soon, the exploitation of wild animals will be banned in traveling circuses. But our leaders, instead of automatically ordering their placement in sanctuaries, are offering circus owners the chance to settle down while continuing to exploit these animals.

Solitude and confinement

For the first time, we reveal images of Samba taken from the sky. A makeshift enclosure, tiny, empty of occupation and solitude. Total boredom for this intelligent, sociable animal, who in the wild travels several dozen kilometers a day with their family. A sedentary lifestyle is the leading cause of arthritic disorders and pain in captive elephants, as confirmed by the many scientists who have examined our images of Samba. There’s no doubt about it, her left hind leg is in pain. On several occasions, she lifts it to relieve the pressure caused by lack of activity and being overweight.

Postures that hurt

During performances, guided by a stick and threatened by a hook, Samba is forced to perform ridiculous “acts”. Unlike usual, she now wears bands around her ankles. Could this be to hide injuries from public view?

The expert we contacted confirms this: “In addition, Samba is forced to adopt extremely abnormal positions and behaviors, such as climbing onto a tiny platform and spinning around repeatedly. She is also forced to carry her full weight on just two legs, and sometimes the left hind leg carries excessive and abnormal weight. The exercises performed during the show can also be a contributing factor to lameness.”

Yet everything is ready for her. A place awaits her in a sanctuary, the transporters are operational. We have the capacity to organize her transfer and are committed to taking care of everything. All we need is the agreement of the authorities.

We are filing another complaint. We continue to fight for Samba, so that she is not sent to a hospice-like zoo like Baby, nor ends her life as a prisoner of a circus. Sign our petition calling for her to be placed in a sanctuary.

generics.video.play

Dying wild boars and abandoned corpses: in the Nièvre department, hunters treat nature like a dustbin

Dying wild boars and abandoned corpses: in the Nièvre department, hunters treat nature like a dustbin

Dying wild boars and abandoned corpses: in the Nièvre department, hunters treat nature like a dustbin
26.06.2024
Dying wild boars and abandoned corpses: in the Nièvre department, hunters treat nature like a dustbin
Hunting

Is abandoning corpses in the wild a new passion for hunters? After foxes from the Jura department, wild boars in the Nièvre department are the latest victims of this “hobby”, which kills tens of millions of animals every year. Wounded animals, agonizing for long hours, decomposing bodies left in the middle of the woods: these are the effects of hunting in the countryside! For these wild boars, we are filing a complaint against X.

For hunters, wild boars are just like any other waste!

While enjoying the arrival of summer in the forest, some walkers in the Nièvre department came across a macabre sight: the corpses of wild boars. And they were not done being surprised: a few yards away, in a pile of manure, they heard heavy breathing: a seriously wounded wild boar had been dying there, probably for many hours.

In this department, hunting is supposed to have been closed since the end of February. But for wild boars, there’s no respite! They can be shot as early as June 1, or even earlier for those with authorization. And, of course, they can be slaughtered all year round by order of the prefect, as part of administrative beat hunts that are often illegal, or by simple request as part of the “ESOD” classification. A continuous massacre.

To put a stop to this outrageous behavior, we’re filing a complaint!

Shooting animals and abandoning their remains in the middle of the forest, wounding some and leaving them in agony for hours, mutilating corpses and displaying them as trophies… And they dare to talk about “hunting ethics”!

A few weeks ago, we had a lieutenant of louveterie and pests convicted of abandoning dozens of fox corpses in a river. Today, we’re demanding justice for wild boars! We are filing a complaint today. To say no to these practices, sign our petition for a radical reform of hunting!

generics.video.play

For the living, let’s stop the far right!

For the living, let’s stop the far right!

For the living, let’s stop the far right!
24.06.2024
For the living, let’s stop the far right!
Multi-theme
Press release

On June 9, the far right made a historic breakthrough in France during the European elections. Following Emmanuel Macron’s dissolution of the national assembly, new legislative elections will be held on June 30 and July 7, leaving the risk of this political current seizing power. Focale pour le Sauvage, One Voice, ASPAS and Pôle Grands Prédateurs firmly oppose and denounce the far-right’s facade ecological program, and call on every citizen to support candidates genuinely committed to the Living.

Both through its votes in the various chambers of Parliament and through its positions, the extreme right is a real threat to biodiversity, the climate and the animal cause. Faced with the risk of seeing its ideas come to power in the next few days and as associations for the defense and protection of wildlife, we cannot remain indifferent to such a situation.

In particular, our associations would like to point out that the Rassemblement National has opposed the European Green Pact and the Nature Restoration Act, which would allow the implementation of measures to restore 20% of Europe’s degraded ecosystems.

We would also point out that representatives of this party campaign in favor of downgrading wolves from their strictly protected species’ status, and regularly defend the cruelest hunting and farming practices, such as hunting with hounds, underground hunting, trapping and factory farming. More generally, the Rassemblement National is opposed to the most ambitious proposals in terms of environmental protection.

Last but not least, we are very concerned about the freedoms of associations, which have been restricted in places where the elected representatives of the Front National, and then of the Rassemblement National (and other extreme right-wingers with or without labels), have been in positions of power.

So, because biodiversity needs us, our associations for the protection of nature and the defense of animals (including humans) are calling on all citizens committed to the Living World to mobilize in order to block the extreme right and to vote in these early legislative elections.

On June 30 and July 7, let’s vote for a livable world that respects life!

Focale pour le Sauvage
One Voice
ASPAS
Pôle Grands Prédateurs

Another glimpse of State cruelty: in the space of nine days, 586,558 animals – a quarter of the official annual figure – became “tools” in laboratories.

Another glimpse of State cruelty: in the space of nine days, 586,558 animals – a quarter of the official annual figure – became “tools” in laboratories.

Another glimpse of State cruelty: in the space of nine days, 586,558 animals – a quarter of the official annual figure – became “tools” in laboratories.
17.06.2024
Another glimpse of State cruelty: in the space of nine days, 586,558 animals – a quarter of the official annual figure – became “tools” in laboratories.
Animal testing

The Ministry of Higher Education and Research tirelessly continues to approve projects imposing suffering and death on animals. A quarter of the annual number of animals used has been exceeded in just nine days.

With nearly 75% of the French population opposed to animal experimentation, and the support of our political representatives, we continue to demand transparency, the use of alternative methods and funding for research dedicated to them! Join us: write to the Ministry!

The MESR recently declared that 2,158,058 uses of animals were made in 2022. This figure is misleading, as it only takes into account the first uses of an animal. In reality, there are many more experiments carried out during the year. The fate of 586,558 animals was sealed in just a few days, from May 23 to 31: 537,266 mice, 480 monkeys, 91 dogs, 80 cats, 752 hamsters, 12,477 rats, 5,700 lizards, 13,823 fish, 7,360 frogs, 1,094 pigs, 1,653 rabbits, 70 sheep, 60 cows, 5,102 chickens and 550 other rodents (some projects don’t bother to specify the species)… Virtually all of them will then be euthanized. This is the appalling reality of French laboratories!

We are highlighting a representative but non-exhaustive selection of what is approved every day by our institutions…

Hundreds of monkeys:

Dogs :

Dogs will also be exploited for drug trials, enduring injection-related pain as well as potential complications such as arterial hypotension or arrhythmias.

Frogs:

Thousands of xenopus tadpoles will be used to test pharmacological compounds and subjected to toxicities that can lead to death, potential paralysis as well as stress and pain. Fish are not to be outdone either, as several hundred have been subjected to a test designed to determine the acute toxicity of a chemical substance. The severity of the project is classified as severe.

The rabbits :

They are also among this week’s victims… One of the projects particularly stood out for us: if the rabbit doesn’t pass the trial entry tests, he is automatically killed. In another project, 1,155 rabbits will undergo surgery to inject a substance into their eye, followed by a series of painful examinations involving inflammation of eye tissue and retinal detachment. They will of course all be euthanized at the end of the procedures.

Small herbivores:

Finally, rodents are still the biggest victims of animal experimentation. They account for around 94% of all animals tested during this period, or 551,045 small herbivores. Here are a few illustrations:

 

We demand that laboratories systematically use alternative methods, as required by law, and that professionals be trained in animal-free testing. We also call on our political representatives to allocate real funding to research into these methods. A strong political will translated into action is needed to overcome the stagnation and finally adopt an innovative approach!

To put an end to these cruel methods, which condemn millions of sentient beings to suffering and death every year, join us in calling for an end to animal experimentation through ethical change translated into action. You too can write to the Minister of Higher Education and Research: download the model letter.

 

AI-generated photo