News Archive - Page 147 of 150

181 dogs and cats rescued: one year later

181 dogs and cats rescued: one year later
03.03.2016
France
181 dogs and cats rescued: one year later
Domestic animals

For the past year, One Voice has been working tirelessly with the authorities to seize two different properties belonging to animal traffickers. One Voice has already rescued 181 dogs and cats from a nightmarish existence, and the case is still ongoing.

A nightmare for cats and dogs

The situations are dire at the two different clandestine breeding facilities in the South West of France discovered by One Voice. A newly born kitten was found crawling into a litter after falling from a windowsill. A young puppy, just days old, stumbled on the dirty cold ground searching for his mother and a place to warm himself—he was barely alive. Young cats and puppies were locked up in a rabbit’s cage. The stench was unavoidable and the air burned our lungs. In these small rooms, animals of all breeds, genders, and ages were packed together like sardines. Almost all of them suffered from scabies, ringworm, keratitis, coryza, and tumors. Some were dying due to a lack of water and sufficient amounts of food. Vaccines, expired medications, ether, and an illegal concoction of homemade euthanasia were found scattered about the facilities.

A long investigation

Thanks to the network of informants and investigators who comprise the Zoe Unit, One Voice was able to track down these horrific facilities. Not only has One Voice coordinated all of these operations, but the organization has also taken care of veterinary fees and the costs of transporting survivors to our partner shelters. Mrs. A, who was already under surveillance, ran the first seized facility—her license to work was taken away by the authorities. However, 40 cats were still reported missing and the ongoing investigation revealed a connection to a second breeding facility, that which belongs to Mrs. G. In order to release the 181 animal victims at the mercy of these two women, Frédérique Dubost, a counselor in the concerned region, needs to approve three seizures (two of which must occur simultaneously).

Judicial proceedings

As a result of One Voice’s work, Mrs. G. was charged for animal abuse, neglect, and withholding food and water, although she has appealed this indictment. Investigations are still ongoing due to the elaborate nature of these animal trafficking schemes, which took place across several departments and involved drugs and microchips.

Support the Zoe Unit’s fight to end cruelty!

Kennel dog clubs in distress

Kennel dog clubs in distress
01.03.2016
France
Kennel dog clubs in distress
Domestic animals

While there may be exceptions, footage filmed during a One Voice investigation reflects a sadly all too prevalent reality. Kennel clubs employ violent practices that might not be obvious to an untrained eye, but are glaring to veterinary specialists.

Why investigate?

According to One Voices’ partner veterinarians, the amount of behavioral disorders, bite marks, euthanasia, and abandonment cases recently recorded has been on the rise among expensive purebred dogs. These are dogs that have attended training schools and kennel clubs aimed at transforming them into perfect creatures. But perfect according to what criteria? The human constructed ideal for pets entails turning them into robots or remote controls that can obey their commands. These animal-machines preferably lack any self-determination or distinctive qualities, despite the fact that each breed possesses their own specific skillset, and even more so, each dog his or her own individual characteristics. Many people use training and kennel clubs as an attempt to create the « dream dog. » But would they still do it if they knew the severity of the trauma inflicted? In order to alert the public to this issue, One Voice investigators used a hidden camera to film training sessions in several clubs. Afterwards veterinary behaviorist, Dr. Nathalie Simon analyzed the evidence.

What we denounce

Nothing is more difficult than questioning these practices. Scientists have recently rejected the prevailing school of thought that places dogs in the same category as wolves, animals that function within a hierarchical social order. However, dog trainers still employ methods that necessitate exerting dominance over the animals, in order to suppress their supposed instinct to dominate. It is clear that after a millennium of co-evolution alongside humans, canine behavioral patterns are far more complex and subtle than this. Yet in training clubs, techniques that teach submission cause much undue harm. Practices that entail loud scary noises such as ringing bells or shaking boxes of nails are widespread, as are others like shaking a puppy by the scruff of the neck. These methods often lead to quick results, because out of fear, even the most rebellious dogs submit. But in doing so, they are traumatized, resulting in tragic consequences that range from anxiety to aggression. When animal-human relationships are not based in trust, there are real costs.

What we do

One Voice both denounces these practices and calls for action to change them. Not only do we need to close down some kennel clubs, but we also must seriously revaluate our relationship with the canine species. Alternating extreme negligence with harsh methods is not a solution. Living together involves learning how to treat each dog as an individual, as well as understand their needs. Living with a dog requires respect, consistency, and trust. Violence simply cannot exist in healthy, lasting, and fulfilling relationships between humans and animals, according to the veterinarians trained by Caring for Dogs- Code of Conduct. Information and assistance regarding healthy relationships with companion animals will be available in One Voice’s Dog Partner Spaces, which will be set up in partner shelters.

Testimonials: The farm of 1000 cows visited by farmers!

Testimonials: The farm of 1000 cows visited by farmers!
26.02.2016
France
Testimonials: The farm of 1000 cows visited by farmers!
Other campaign or multi-campaigns of One Voice

Since 2014, the « farm of 1000 cows » is scandalous and rightly so. One Voice shares with you the testimony of two farmers who were disturbed by the fate of the cows locked up in this cruel and polluting factory.

It is in the Somme area, near Abbeville, that the « farm of a thousand cows » sprang up, from the idea of a rich French
entrepreneur. « Inspired » by the huge US and German farms, he decided to develop the concept in France. The premises are intended for the exploitation of 1000 « dairy » cows and 750 calves and heifers, although today it has received authorization « only » for 500 cows. Here, the animals will not know the meadow and will go into boxes in the rotating milking parlour three times a day. For the two farmers who visited this factory farm, the infrastructure is unsuitable and causes multiple injuries to the cattle. An operation of this size can in no way guarantee them at the very minimum a life of well-being. For One Voice, who is already denouncing their suffering in traditional farms, this objectification of animals is intolerable!

« In some small farms where there are milking robots, the cows are going to be hooked up alone, when they want to. While there, at the « farm of 1000 cows », no it is not possible. It’s slavery for cows. » (From a retired breeder-read the full story here)

In connection with the farm, there is a methanizer that will convert the excrement of cows into energy, resold with a large profit to EDF. A profit such as, for some, it largely exceeds the dairy production objective of the farm. But this process is not environmentally friendly despite the announcement of the effects. Slurry will be supplemented by other green waste. The residues (digests) will be so rich in nitrogen that they will be spread onto the soil like a fertilizer, this will pollute the water and the air. It is they who are responsible for the proliferation of green algae in Brittany where methanisation is largely associated with pig farming … One Voice supports the Novissen association which brings together residents opposed to this « cow factory » and who will be the first collateral victims.

« The plough that picks up the dung passes near their hooves; it’s made of rubber apparently. But there is one cow who had lost her balance. This cow, was left lying between the concrete and the back of the plough. And now she is useless… After this she was limping… You should have seen her hooves, they were all shattered. There was blood. There were many who had it on their feet. And that one, I saw her lose her balance with the plough. » (From a retired breeder-read the full story here)

Producing milk on an industrial scale also means producing calves at the same rate. Do not forget that if cows produce milk, it is to feed their little ones! In this Kafkaesque environment, they will be torn from their mothers whose heart-breaking appeals will be ignored. Males will be slaughtered after being transported and sold in terrible conditions (see our survey of « cattle markets« ). The females will be fattened to become producers-if they survive. All this to satisfy humans who want to continue to consume milk even into adulthood, despite the risks to their health and the controversy of this type of consumption… Is this production still possible if all are agreed to finally open their eyes on the mental and emotional life of cows?

« How do you want them to be, these animals? Cows, we called them and they came back immediately, they were caressed. An animal… that it is… Have you seen a dog? Well, it’s like a dog. An animal, who comes to lick you. They followed me in the pasture. They followed me as a person following another person. » (From a retired breeder-read the full story here)

When France kills dogs…

When France kills dogs…
25.02.2016
Europe
When France kills dogs…
Animal testing

When France kills dogs, Italy chooses to condemn those who torture them. The Brescia Court of Appeal has just confirmed the severe condemnation of the managers of Green Hill, a dog breeding facility for laboratories all over Europe. 3000 beagles are saved!

France is one of 27 countries in the European Union, one that experiments the most on dogs and cats. Recently with the Biotrial scandal, a person died. Yet, dogs had died during the preclinical testing phases … tortured and killed, and for what?

Since 1999 One Voice has campaigned for the end of dog and cat experimentation and illustrates its concerns. One Voice successfully managed to stop the installation of a breeding facility by Marshall in Montbeugny, exposed through several investigations the practices of breeding dogs for laboratories and managed to save several beagles.

We have already written to the Minister of Health about the chimpanzees that would have been used by Biotrial and have yet not received a response. A new letter has also been sent to him this week as well as to the Minister of Research asking for reports concerning those dogs whose death did not stop that of a human. The historic victory of the LAV in Italy should be inspiring!

Because of LAV our Italian partner in the European Coalition, has been running a long legal battle. After years of fighting to close the Green Hill dog farm and a startling investigation, they filed a complaint and obtained in 2012 the seizure of 3000 Beagles destined for laboratories all over Europe. Then, the case took a decisive turn in 2014, when Italy announced that it was prohibiting this type of breeding. And in January 2015, the judgment at first instance convicted the veterinarian, the director and the executive manager of Green Hill.

By confirming this conviction yesterday for acts of cruelty, ill-treatment and illegal euthanasia, the Court of Appeal sends a strong signal to all scientists: dogs do not belong in laboratories!

The penalties are exemplary: imprisonment and disqualification for 2 years. It must be said that in Green Hill dogs were not cared for but killed, even for simple dermatological pathologies: the question of profitability… With this decision, Italy clearly expresses its refusal to prioritize the economic interests even of a big multinational like Marshall (who owns Green Hill) when the well-being of sentient individuals is at stake.

And, France? Will it continue to turn a blind eye to ethics and progress when economic interests are at stake? Yet how many more deaths still to investigate concerning the practices of the French laboratories?

Help us better protect our companions: Sign and circulate our petition!

Tilikum: The Blackfish effect

Tilikum: The Blackfish effect
24.02.2016
World
Tilikum: The Blackfish effect
Exploitation for shows

Tilly, dear Tilly. Six years already. We fight for you and yours. We do not give up. Resist a little longer, we are moving towards your freedom, towards your freedom. Your desperate gesture has been heard. Continue to resist!

Today, after thirty-three years of detention, Tilikum, aka Tilly, is subdued
by tranquilizers, floating motionless and facing a wall. His dorsal fin is so flaccid that it hangs on his side. Sadly, echoing The One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Tilikum was punished for wanting to break his chains. Seaworld, who wants him alive, has put him in a chemical straightjacket. He is a « breeding bull ». His seed is highly prized.

However, his suicidal revolt will not have been in vain: thanks to him, all
captive orcas can now benefit from a new public gaze. The Blackfish
effect continues to eat away at SeaWorld and soon, all companies that
exhibit orcas in glass jars will have to deal with this change of opinion. Tilikum is a whistle-blower, a Spartacus amongst orcas!

At sea, no orca has attacked a human. In captivity, there have been
hundreds of incidents. Why this violence? Orcas are not happy; SeaWorld explains that they are receiving the best veterinary care and the best gourmet food? No, they are not. Orcas have extremely developed brains. Maybe even more developed than that of the human brain…

When it was revealed in Death at SeaWorld and then in Blackfish in
2013, Tilikum’s story moved the world. Clearly the victim of an
industrial lobby, his violent attack has paradoxically revealed all the « humanity » of captive orcas, all the suffering that these giant slaves feel, locked up in an overcrowded pit, and that sometimes makes them swing from the « dark side » of the force, to use John Hargrove’s words.

Born in the icy waters of Iceland, Tilly was kidnapped from his mother and
tribe in 1983, at the age of two. He later became a gigantic male, but he was still a shy male. At Sealand of the Pacific where he was brought, he was locked up every night in a shed with two aggressive females. Every morning he came out covered in wounds. And one day, at the end of his nerves, he dragged his trainer by the foot and drowned her. A little later, he killed a drifter who had probably plunged into his pool. But for SeaWorld, the moods of killer whales must not be known. Tilly’s past has been concealed. Until the death of Dawn Brancheau, February 24, 2010.

Tilikum’s mad despair did not go unnoticed. His miserable life, his anger, this dignity that he desperately tries to win back, inspires our struggle. We do not want killer whales to be enslaved any longer. We do not want to see them suffer anymore. We must save Tilikum and the fifty-five other orcas that are still held in the world!

Please sign and diffuse our petition for closing dolphinariums!

Tilikum died in January 2017.

Jeeth: a historical liberation

Jeeth: a historical liberation
20.02.2016
India
Jeeth: a historical liberation
Wildlife

Jeeth, one of the last dancing bears identified in India, was released back into the wild from a sanctuary in Agra by his Qualandar trainer on December 9th, 2009. This liberation was the successful culmination of seven years’ worth of One Voice’s intensive work alongside Wildlife SOS.

A victory for bears

The name Jeeth, which translates to « victory » in Hindi, could not be more appropriate for this particular bear. For all four years of his life, Jeeth has been forced to dance. However, on December 9^th, 2009, Jeeth became a symbol for all of the bears that have been liberated in India. Today he represents a victory for all of those who have spent years both working on the ground with and supporting Wildlife SOS, One Voice and the NGOs IAR and Free the Bears to put an end to a tradition which has been contributing to the extinction of the sloth bear on the Indian subcontinent for 400 years.

No longer slaves

In spite of a very strict law passed in 1972 in India, the bear keeping tradition managed to endure for centuries due to the fact that it is the primary source of income for the nomadic Qualandar community. This barbarous custom consisted of forcing bears, captured at a very young age, to mimic a jumping dance. Being hit with sticks and having ropes strung through their snouts was just part of the daily torture. For the price of a few rupees, the Qualandars exhibited the bears in the most touristic places they were able access. By gradually liberating all of the bears from the yokes of their captors, our anti-poaching unit has put an end to this life of slavery, in which bears were mutilated and deprived of care, adequate food, or any semblance of freedom.

A long-term undertaking

Since 2002, the anti-poaching unit Forestwatch, created by One Voice and Wildlife SOS, has been carrying out this long-term project. Not only did they locate all of the dancing bears throughout the country, form teams, conduct informational campaigns, stop traffickers and poachers for questioning, but they also collaborated with local authorities to develop a reintegration program for Qualandar community. This program assists in providing for medical needs, schooling for children, and educational programs that facilitate former trainers in receiving financial assistance and starting new professions. There is no doubt that the key to the success of this seven-year struggle was the promise of a « better future, » Jeeth’s trainer emphasized following their separation.

Relearning how to live

Jeeth has been entrusted to a sanctuary in Agra where he currently resides. Freed from his rope and placed in a park that takes into account both mental and physical health, he gradually relearned how to live like a bear. As soon as he was ready, he went on to join his fellow bears, also liberated from their formers lives of slavery. Unlike a zoo, where everything is done with regards to the human visitor, the sanctuary is designed according to the needs of residents. From now on, Jeeth’s daily life consists of climbing trees, hiding, looking for food, eating honey and fruit, playing, and even spending time with other wild animal survivors such as long-tailed macaques, antelopes, mongoose, birds, etc.

A historic turning point

December 9th, 2009 marks a historic turning point for all of the bears in the world. The end of the Indian bear’s bondage inspires hope for all other wild animals trained to perform. In France, bears and many other animals are still constrained to lives that disrespect both their nature and their needs.

Watch the videos

Forestwatch: in action in the field

Forestwatch: in action in the field
20.02.2016
India
Forestwatch: in action in the field
Wildlife

Based in India, the mission of the anti-poaching team Forestwatch is to save bears and take out poaching and smuggling networks. In a few years its work has put an end to the ancient tradition of dancing bears. But they still have plenty more to do about widespread trafficking in endangered species.

A strict law

In 2002 One Voice and Wildlife SOS set up an anti-poaching team to combat poaching of sloth bears for dancing, an ancient Kalandar gypsy tradition. A very tough Indian law dating from 1972 punishes poaching with heavy fines and prison sentences. Despite this, it quickly became clear that large numbers of bears are also captured to be used for bile or killed for meat for the south-east Asian market. All wild animal smuggling is closely linked and utilises the same networks. The remit of the team was thus quickly enlarged.

Infiltrating the networks

Working in close cooperation with government and local authorities, the anti-poaching team Forestwatch relies on research, often long-term, and a network of informants which they have recruited and trained. These are usually former poachers or reformed smugglers who know the territory well. To infiltrate networks, the team regularly pose as smugglers or potential buyers. When a network is taken down, it is the local authorities who make arrests and determine the fate of rescued cubs. Forestwatch requests whenever possible that cubs be entrusted to them. Several sanctuaries operated by Wildlife SOS, with the support of One Voice, allow them to ensure they have a happy and safe future.

Advising and training

Thanks to One Voice, the Forestwatch team has the use of all the high tech kit essential for their work (computers, mobile phones, PDA etc). As well as intelligence-based fieldwork, the anti-poaching team trains police, forestry workers and other technicians. Its biologists, investigators and informants analyse trafficking data and predict trends…

Taking down traffickers

The partnership between Indian government agencies and Forestwatch has resulted in effective combating of bear poaching and illegal trading in India. Tackling severe poverty, and setting up a retraining programme for Kalandar gypsies who agree to hand over their bears, have contributed to completely wiping out the tradition of dancing bears. Today the anti-poaching team, whose strength comes from its experienced network, carries on the fight against trafficking in endangered species, such as leopards poached for their pelts.

Vicky: saved from circus hell

Vicky: saved from circus hell
20.02.2016
Europe
Vicky: saved from circus hell
Exploitation for shows

After several years in the hell that is the circus, Vicky the elephant was freed by One Voice. Today she enjoys a peaceful retirement in semi-liberty, and most importantly in the company of another elephant…

It was in the Paris area that One Voice investigators found Vicky, an elephant then aged 42. When we rescued her in January 2006, we created a legal precedent that at last offers hope for all animals held in circuses, and reminds the circus world of its legal duty to care for the animals they have. In the course of this rescue operation we exposed just how much animal suffering and isolation underlies this « entertainment » business.

Physical and mental misery

Vicky is typical of the damage that circuses causes to the animals they exploit. After several years entertaining humans, in living conditions that were totally inadequate, she developed stereotypical behaviour (repetitive swaying). On the site where the circus set up at the start of 2006, it was not difficult to spot the trailer where she was hidden away since it was rocking from side to side. Aside from her mental deterioration, this elephant was also suffering physically. The vet brought in to oversee her journey could do little more than document her injuries : as well as multiple untreated wounds, paralysis of a back leg, caused by unnatural repetitive movements, and paralysis of the trunk, consistent with being endlessly struck by her trainer. These two types of injury are classic amongst elephants abused in circuses.

A wretched life

But there was even more to the suffering of this elephant. In the days before her rescue, One Voice investigators had her under surveillance and observed that she never left her trailer. She had no access to daylight other than briefly when the circus people came to feed her or clean her lorry-cage. Chained up day and night, she could not move, and there was no heating to protect her from the cold. These living quarters were unsuitable and unacceptable, flouting basic regulations on keeping wild animals.

A carefully supervised liberation

The physical and mental state of Vicky somewhat complicated her rescue. We had to « lift » Vicky from her jailers with a police escort. Once our team was sure the elephant was well away, we transferred her to a lorry specially adapted for taking her to Poland, to a vast paddock in a specialist park, and best of all with the company of another elephant survivor.

The rescue in pictures

The rescue and relocation of Vicky required special care and multiple precautions to not endanger her life. These four videos tell the story of her rescue, closely monitored by the French national office for hunting and wild animals (ONCFS), in cooperation with local authorities.

Have chimpanzees undergone illegal experimentation?

Have chimpanzees undergone illegal experimentation?
18.02.2016
Europe
Have chimpanzees undergone illegal experimentation?
Animal testing

Despite canine deaths in pre-clinical tests, Portugese pharmaceutical, Bial, continued to human and primate trials that resulted in six critical hospital admissions in January this year. The French minister of health, Marisol Touraine, has confirmed that preliminary drug tests were carried out on primates. One Voice is working to get clear answers.

While Bial has claimed in media reports to have complied « with international best practices, » One Voice questions whether the tests on the chimpanzees were carried out after « Directive 2010/63/EU » went into effect. This legislation, adopted in September 2010, serves to protect animals used for scientific purposes in the European Union. If so, why would Bial have been exempt from abiding by this law?

On January 21, 2016, with the backing of MP Laurence Abeille, One Voice wrote to Marisol Touraine requesting that she specify how the chimpanzees were used in these trials, and whether the conditions were legal or not.

The European Directive EU/63/2010, already in application during these chimpanzee trials, bans all experiments on chimpanzees and apes, except under exceptional circumstances.

It came into effect as domestic law by decree on February 1, 2013. Simply put, these legal texts indicate that the use of chimpanzees for experimentation would have been strictly limited and regulated if the trials took place recently.

One Voice is firmly resolved to get to the bottom of this scandal, pressing charges if laws were broken, and to continue promoting toxicogenomic testing as an alternative to animal testing.

Toxicogenomics: an effective method that spares animals!

Toxicogenomics: an effective method that spares animals!
16.02.2016
Europe
Toxicogenomics: an effective method that spares animals!
Animal testing

Toxicogenomics is a new method for toxicity testing that is faster, more efficient, and cheaper than animal testing. One Voice and Antidote Europe have been working together to further this revolutionary technique.

The principal behind toxicogenomics, an applied genomics process discovered ten years ago, is to identify genes by exposing individual cells to a chemical product. One Voice and Antidote Europe published a full report on this method that can be made available upon request.

A more efficient method

According to studies, the toxicogenomic approach, when compared with animal testing, yielded more accurate results. Furthermore, the toxicogenomic method is a hundred times faster and cheaper than animal testing. And unlike other methods, it does not pose any health risks.

Two decisive advantages

Firstly, Toxicogenomics is advantageous in that it provides information essential to understanding cellular mechanisms, along with a comprehensive evaluation of toxic risk in both the short and long term. It also has the unique ability of simultaneously identifying a large number of potential disease pathways such as cancer, neurological diseases, inflammatory responses, metabolic problems, embryonic and reproductive issues, all in a single experiment.

A universal method

Additionally, toxicogenomic techniques can also be used to test for toxicity in animal, terrestrial, aquatic, or plant species. Therefore, this method has the potential to become the standard for toxic risk assessment, not only concerning human health, but also with regard to preserving biodiversity. Not only can this technique save animals, but it is also the way of the future!

Support One Voice’s fight against animal testing!

« … Given that harmful substances can be responsible for major diseases, including cancer and dementia, it is imperative that they are eliminated from the environment. Since goods move freely between European borders, the European Commission must implement a system to reliably assess toxic hazards and abandon the animal testing model touted by the REACH project. » (in » The toxicogenomics–A toxic risk assessment for humans » A report by Antidote Europe and One Voice, September 2005).