News Archive - Page 2 of 131

The return of the Gartner family’s elephants to Valence d’Agen? We say no, for them

The return of the Gartner family’s elephants to Valence d’Agen? We say no, for them
12.06.2025
Valence d’Agen, Tarn-et-Garonne
The return of the Gartner family’s elephants to Valence d’Agen? We say no, for them
Exploitation for shows

At a time when France has committed to banning wild animals from traveling circuses by 2028, we are dismayed to learn that a show featuring elephants is scheduled to take place in Valence d’Agen from November 29 to December 14, 2025 at Cirque en 2 Rives. Three elderly elephants, their dignity mocked, will be exhibited by the infamous Gartner family. Together, let’s demand the cancellation of their coming to France.

Belinda, Pira and Thai. Three elephants, each around sixty years old, whom we know well. Three lives marked by captivity, coercion and the mechanical repetition of gestures learned in fear. These animals, endowed with exceptional intelligence, are doomed to get back on the road, locked in trucks, moved from town to town in the name of an outdated entertainment -an entertainment built on their suffering.

Our country has committed to banning these shows. The vast majority of the public rejects and shuns them. And yet, in Valence d’Agen, in 2025, a step back in time is coming, orchestrated by trainers known for their brutality.

This show, if it takes place, will be an insult to collective intelligence, to ethics and to the animals themselves.

We will not allow these elephants to grow old on asphalt and under a big top.

A long history of mistreatment

The Gartner family, who perform all over Europe, are not newcomers. Already convicted of animal abuse abroad in the early 2000s, several elephants have already been seized from them, including in France. At the end of 2005, when four of them were to be rescued in Germany following the conviction of their trainer for mistreatment, they “disappeared”. A few days later, One Voice found them, before they were moved again. In early 2006, we managed to rescue Vicky. She had been hidden and abandoned in a closed trailer, without care, chained 24 hours a day, alone, in a critical state of health. Her trunk had been paralyzed by pike blows.

In the 1980s and 1990s, humans were twice killed by Gartner elephants. These tragedies reveal the extreme psychological and physical suffering of these animals, to the point of rupture. And the calamitous management of these trainers.

In 2018, Diana, Vicky’s former companion, died in tragic circumstances. A road accident that should have been avoided, since elephants are not supposed to be in trucks! Do we have to wait for another tragedy before reacting?

2028, an empty promise

Since 2021, the French government has been promising a ban on wild animals in traveling circuses by 2028. In reality, this is nothing of the sort: the government is encouraging trainers to settle down and keep their animals, and is even promising them thousands of euros in order for them to do so!

From now on, it’s the hypocrites’ ball! Is this what we want for the future? Circuses that bring in animals from abroad as they please and send them back once the tour is over? That’s an empty law, easily circumvented, that lets animals suffer in silence…

We must act now!

We call on everyone to mobilize to prevent this disgraceful spectacle from taking place.

Write to your elected representatives: Write today to the Tarn-et-Garonne prefecture and the Valence d’Agen town hall to demand the cancellation of this event (model letters are available by clicking on the links).
Contact the prefect on social networks:
- On X (formerly Twitter): @Prefet_82 In support of One Voice’s action, I ask you to cancel the visit to Valence d’Agen of the Gartner trainers and the three elephants they are holding. Animals are not objects of entertainment. #CirquesSansAnimaux
- On Instagram: @prefet82 Animals are not objects of entertainment! The law will soon ban their presence in circuses, it’s not to bring them in from abroad! With @onevoiceanimal I call for the cancellation of the visit of the Gartner trainers and their three elephants in Valence d’Agen #CirquesSansAnimaux
Sign our petition

Today, Samba, for whom we have been fighting since 2002, is the last elephant held by a circus in France. We will do everything we can to ensure that she spends her retirement in a sanctuary where there is a place for her, and to prevent trainers from importing others from abroad, as if they were merchandise.

Elephants, and animals in general, have no place in circuses. Not in 2025, not in 2028, not ever. Their suffering is not a spectacle.

Lien vers la publication annonçant la venue des éléphantes

Animal experimentation: France buys, locks up and tortures primates -and intends to continue

Animal experimentation: France buys, locks up and tortures primates -and intends to continue
12.06.2025
France
Animal experimentation: France buys, locks up and tortures primates -and intends to continue
Animal testing

In 2025, while public opinion overwhelmingly rejects primate testing (Ipsos/One Voice poll, April 2023), France persists.

Tripling of breeding capacity at Rousset, macaque imports at Silabe, extension of the mouse lemurs breeding farm at Brunoy: behind the hushed words of researchers, the lives of hundreds of individuals are being shattered.

No respite. No alternatives seriously considered. Just a well-oiled machine, turning living beings into laboratory raw material. This policy is a disgrace. One Voice continues to request administrative documents to shed light on what is happening far from the public eye.

Let’s be clear: in France, the future of primate experimentation is being planned, financed and built in the same way as an industry. Nothing is changing. Worse: everything is accelerating.

At a time when millions of citizens are calling for an end to these cruel practices and the real, tangible arrival of animal-free methods, the State is allowing and even encouraging the opposite to happen.

Meanwhile, animals continue to be born to suffer and die on lab benches.

Rousset: triple the confinement, triple the horror

In the Bouches-du-Rhône region, a discreet site in Rousset plans to increase the number of macaques from 600 to 1,740. The aim is to “feed” the needs of French and European laboratories.

These monkeys are not there by chance: they are programmed to serve. From birth, their lives are mapped out: cages, stress, isolation, then syringes, scalpels, invasive tests. They will never see the forest. They will never know freedom. They will be used to exhaustion, then euthanized. A lucrative business, subsidized by the taxpayer.

Is this France’s scientific ambition? To triple suffering?

Silabe: ordered, delivered, broken

At Silabe, near Strasbourg, despite our revelations, despite the withdrawal of approval for opacity, the infernal machine continues.

A new invitation to tender has been published to import macaques from Mauritius.

Behind the postcards of paradisiacal landscapes, our on-site investigations revealed the scandalous capture and breeding conditions of these individuals. Torn away from their world, from their own, they spend hours locked in crates, tossed about, stressed, the weakest dying before they arrive. Once in France, the survivors become objects of experimentation.

It’s as easy as ordering pens. A budget line, an order form.

Their intelligence, their sensitivity? Denied by the logic of the protocols.

Brunoy: behind the bars of excellence, maximum suffering for mouse lemurs

In Brunoy, in the Essonne region, the National Museum of Natural History is home to the world’s largest breeding facility for mouse lemurs, with 470 mouse-sized primates.

Behind this institution’s image of respectability lies a harsh reality: captivity, isolation, repeated use for experimental purposes.

It’s said to be a “science campus”. It is praised for its “French excellence”. According to the town’s mayor, “the extraordinary work carried out on lemurs deserves to be developed and studied further on our territory”.

Our investigations reveal negligence, grey areas and silences. Once again, our cousins are paying the price. In silence.

Politics and science without conscience

What the State and laboratories are building today is not cutting-edge research: it’s a production line of suffering.

France remains Europe’s biggest user of primates, and clearly has no intention of changing course. Substitute methods? Barely mentioned. Financing ideas? Swept under the carpet. The European directive calling for a reduction? Ignored.

We say it loud and clear: animals are not laboratory material. We remain mobilized and continue to request further documentation on these projects. If, like eight out of ten French people, you are against the breeding of primates in France (Ipsos/One Voice poll), sign and share our petition!

The Millevaches plateau deserves better than a deadly face-off

The Millevaches plateau deserves better than a deadly face-off
12.06.2025
Corrèze
The Millevaches plateau deserves better than a deadly face-off
Wildlife

In the spring, nine predations were recorded on the Millevaches plateau, possibly caused by wolves, angering livestock farmers. In response, the Corrèze prefecture deployed a Wolf Brigade to shoot them. Our associations for the protection of nature and the environment are proposing a different approach.

On March 4, the Carduelis association revealed the presence of two wolves with extremely rare genetic capital on the Millevaches plateau, a male of German-Polish lineage and a young female of Italian-Alpine lineage, a unique event in France. This duo was – and still is – threatened by lethal shootings authorized by the Corrèze prefecture.

Since then, the Prefect of Corrèze has remained deaf to requests from Carduelis and One Voice for a meeting. The aim was to open a dialogue in an attempt to establish measures for coexistence between human activities and the presence of wolves.

All the more so as Carduelis monitoring indicates that other wolves are currently present and/or passing through the Millevaches plateau.

Today, all the associations* are concerned about the situation. We question the delay in classifying certain villages as “circle 1”, a status allowing the opening of specific protection aids such as shepherding… which the FDSEA initially refused – and which we believe could have prevented the damage suffered. In this respect, we deplore the prefecture’s lack of foresight.

We also contest the systematic lethal approach adopted by this very prefecture, and call for the application of alternative measures, such as the scaring measures put in place by the Ardennes prefect under a prefectoral decree published on May 21.

On May 24, the Prefect of Corrèze openly declared to the press: “I don’t think we should learn to live with the wolf”. And his successive decisions – as well as those of the Minister of Agriculture – only serve to inflame tensions and radicalize positions. We recall that the National Action Plan to ensure coexistence between the wolf and livestock farming activities also applies in Corrèze, and we call on the Prefect of Corrèze to show restraint in his comments as a representative of the State, and courage in his dealings with livestock farmers’ unions, in order to initiate a constructive dialogue that will help preserve our biodiversity and human activities.

Rather than fuelling confrontation, we wish to offer a sincere listening ear and concrete help, particularly in terms of prevention, cohabitation and support for the implementation of protection measures adapted to local realities. This is why our national and local animal and nature protection associations (*see below) are mobilizing to propose a way out of this crisis.

In support of the work carried out over the years by the Millevaches Regional Nature Park (PNR), the PastoraLoup program can be deployed on an emergency basis, thanks to volunteers already trained in the Alps in herd surveillance and construction site assistance. Every year, this assistance proves its effectiveness in drastically limiting predation on sheep and cattle herds.

In 2024, with 1171 nights and days of surveillance carried out by more than 150 volunteers, only the loss of one baby goat and one lamb are to be deplored on the 30 farms benefiting from the program in the Alps, Jura and Doubs.

Finally, the presence of a large predator such as the wolf, in addition to the benefits it brings to ecosystems, could ultimately be the source of an eco-agro-touristic activity bringing numerous economic spin-offs to the area. Breeders/producers would be the primary beneficiaries, through the promotion and direct sale of quality products in a wild and protected area.

Tony Zavatta circus: the same suffering for “domestic” and wild animals

Tony Zavatta circus: the same suffering for “domestic” and wild animals
05.06.2025
France
Tony Zavatta circus: the same suffering for “domestic” and wild animals
Exploitation for shows

After receiving several reports in April of the very worrying condition of a camel at Tony Zavatta Circus (Gougeon production), and dispatching investigators to the site in May, One Voice lodged a complaint of mistreatment, which was closed almost immediately, which is a disgrace. These practices involving animals considered domestic will continue for a long time to come, as they are not affected by the legal ban on traveling circuses scheduled for December 2028. And yet, as their suffering is the same, we defend them too.

On May 7, we posted images from a whistle-blower showing a camel held by Tony Zavatta Circus, then based in Luçon (85). Constrained to three meters of chain as its only radius of movement, without water or shelter, with humps in very poor condition, he moved on the spot, displaying abnormal and stereotyped behavior, a clear sign of malaise among captive animals. But he’s not the only one affected by the deleterious conditions of detention in this circus.

Endless detention with appalling consequences

A few days later, in La Chaize-le-Vicomte (85), we filmed the same camelid, still tethered. Lacking sufficient freedom of movement, he tramples aimlessly for hours on end, as if lost in a mirage where he’s crossing vast lands, as his nature predestined him to do, or circling his post, reproducing his training routine ad nauseam. At times, he explodes, struggles, desperately trying to free himself.

A little further on, a younger camel is restless, clearly having nervous breakdowns. Full of the energy peculiar to his age, he would certainly prefer to leap and gambol, but that’s impossible for him as it is, as his makeshift cage isn’t twice his size. His only possible stimuli: licking a knotted cord or chewing on a billboard, hung on one of his prison’s metal gates.

Surrounding him on this construction site are llamas, ponies and dromedaries, kept in scandalously similar conditions. These other companions are also chained very tightly, confined among stocks of materials or along a path accessible to anyone. When some of these captives have the “luxury” of having a household bucket as a water source, their tie, the length of which is decided by the circus workers, systematically prevents them from drinking from it!

How difficult it is to have such suffering legally recorded…

On May 16, One Voice filed a complaint for mistreatment of animals by professionals, which constitutes an aggravating circumstance. We have also requested an urgent inspection by the local authorities of the owner of Tony Zavatta Circus, one of the members of the indescribable Gougeon family.

This is not the first time (far from it!) that the brothers and cousins, who are also at the head of the circuses Italiano and Idéal, as well as of Nouveau Cirque Triomphe – the list goes on – have found themselves concerned by our complaints. Among the most recent cases to date, we’ve already had those of the Paris Circus convicted of abusing Jon as well as Patty, Céleste, Marly and Hannah.

Following up on our alert, the Vendée prefecture replied, assuring us of their “vigilance in this matter”. While we were pleasantly surprised that the gendarmerie and municipal police were dispatched to the site for “administrative checks and an inspection of the animals”, we regret that no institutional service trained to analyze animal behavior was also asked to carry out ethological observations. What immediate corrective actions were ordered on site? A veterinary inspection? The seizure of camelids in poor health? No, the circus owners were simply asked to increase the length of their ties!

To add insult to injury, while dismissing our complaint, State officials confirmed the stereotypical behavior of certain captives. Worse still, this suffering is trivialized by invoking their fatal destiny, doomed to “circus exploitation”. An admission of insufficient human resources and institutional complacency towards abusive circus practices. The real distress of these sentient individuals is negated by lacunary legislation.

Even if our complaint was unsuccessful this time, we won’t give in!

generics.video.play

Non-wild animals, the great forgotten of the law

Let’s not forget that these living beings are, in the eyes of the legislation dated November 30, 2021, considered as domestic and will therefore not be affected by the forthcoming ban of December 1, 2028. So many lofty ambitions had taken seed, and now this law is missing its initial objectives, leaving room for a variety of interpretations to the detriment of those first concerned, many of whom will continue to be trained, exploited… or others simply forgotten, as here, due to a general lack of controls, or which are clearly only in name. Meanwhile, circus owners will even be compensated with public money to continue subjugating sentient individuals over and over again!

There’s only one solution: a total ban on animals in circuses. Help us change the law by signing our petition.

Traumatic flashball scare shots on wolves

Traumatic flashball scare shots on wolves
02.06.2025
Haute-Savoie
Traumatic flashball scare shots on wolves
Wildlife

We thought we’d seen it all, but now we’re stunned. Wolves are about to undergo a terrifying experiment. A pack in the Haute-Savoie region is to be disturbed and its individuals captured. And for what? To test the effects of a variant of shooting: “traumatic” scaring shots (TEFT) [sic]. Although this initiative is an attempt to find answers to the incessant culling of canids, questions remain as to the real interest of this experiment and its considerable impact.

In September 2024, a public consultation was opened on an experimental project to test a new, non-lethal method of scaring off wolves.

Spearheaded by two recognized organizations, Asters – Haute-Savoie Conservatory of Natural Spaces (CEN74) and the Institute for the Promotion and Research on Protection Animals (IPRA), the project involves capturing up to five individuals, fitting them with GPS collars and, once released, studying their reactions to flashball discharges when attempting to predate flocks. The captures were authorized by two orders issued by the Prefect of Haute-Savoie on March 17, 2025.

A good idea to combat lethal shooting… but nothing new

What’s hard to understand is that breeders can already carry out scare shots, so why inflict further trauma on wolves?

Is the aim to inflict further pain and fear? This remains unclear, all the more so as the project’s leads themselves acknowledge that this method is “promising but as yet poorly documented”. In other words, we’re about to test a form of increased violence on wolves, with no real guarantee of its effects or effectiveness.

Further persecution

In Passy, after the escaped goats in the prefect’s sights, the wolves are about to be subjected to severe psychological and physical shocks. Is it really necessary to capture five of them, who are already being hunted down relentlessly, in order to verify that these shots are more effective when they prove to be “traumatic”?

High-risk capture, trapping and sequestration for protected animals

The terms of the project’s non-technical summary (RNT) are unambiguous: this is a “non-lethal but painful scaring method”.

The TEFT project presents significant risks for wolves, both during capture and shooting. Trapping and anaesthetizing can lead to stress, motor disorders, injuries of varying degrees of severity, and disruption of social dynamics within the pack. The flashball shots themselves, although qualified as non-lethal, can nevertheless cause pain, behavioral alterations and, in the event of poor execution, potential handicaps. In fact, the aim of the project is to “subject [the wolf] to a painful experience, so that it learns to avoid herds as a result of this bad experience”. Serious consequences for members of a protected species…

The animals will – fortunately – be “returned to their natural habitat”, but at what cost to their lives and those of their families? A member of the Blaitière pack targeted by these measures was captured on April 6. Who is it? The father or the mother? Did the cubs witness it? The stability and equilibrium of the group help to channel and educate the youngsters.

To put an end to the persecution of wolves in all their forms, sign our petition.

Behind the official figures for animal experimentation, reality remains unchanged

Behind the official figures for animal experimentation, reality remains unchanged
27.05.2025
France
Behind the official figures for animal experimentation, reality remains unchanged
Animal testing

The Ministry congratulates itself for a slight drop in the number of animals used in experiments for the first time in 2023, but more than 2 million individuals were still involved that year. The official figures continue to exclude countless living beings, invisible in the reports. Not to mention the fact that 90% of experiments are not legally required.

Behind the coldness of technical terms such as « use » and so-called « moderate » suffering lie very real, painful experiences.

One Voice deciphers what the falsely transparent figures do not show.

In its 2023 statistical survey, the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESR) congratulated itself for a slight drop in the number of living beings exploited for the first time in experiments during the year. However, the 2 million mark is still exceeded, whether we consider the total number of animals tested (2,030,513) or the number of first uses in 2023 (2,046,754). It is important to remember that the MESR only counts the first scalpel stroke given to an individual during the year: reuses during the same year are not taken into account.

What’s more, behind these overall figures, there are still major disparities between species: 20% of hamsters still undergo procedures classified as « severe », and although dogs account for just 0.2% of uses, the figures for them are on the rise.

Thousands of lives overlooked by ministerial reports

Every year, official data on animal experimentation remains largely underestimated… It doesn’t take into account animals used outside regulated procedures. These animals are only declared to the European Commission every five years. This is the case, for example, of individuals bred solely to reproduce genetically modified lines, or of those killed to remove their organs or tissues for in vitro research. These practices are sometimes referred to as « New Methodological Approaches » (NMAs), a term that leads to confusion: we’re not talking here about « Non-Animal Methods », but rather about the additional use of countless living beings! Rather than marking a break with in vivo experimentation, these practices add to it, as animals continue to be killed to satisfy the demands of a research system that is struggling to evolve.

Invisible in falsely transparent annual reports, all excluded from official data, they disappear in a persistent opacity.

When the category of « moderate » suffering is used to mask reality

The MESR points to a drop in the most unbearable experiments, described as « severe », from 11.5% in 2022 to 9.3% in 2023. It also claims that 87% of cases would fall into the « mild » or « moderate » severity category.

But these percentages mask an entirely different reality: of the 2,046,754 uses recorded in 2023, the moderate and severe categories alone account for almost half of all cases.

What does MESR consider moderate pain?

« mutant mice » killed because they had become ‘too old’ following a delay in delivery, then replaced by others to undergo multiple injections before being placed on a hot plate;
another 2,500 were injected with cancer cells into their bladders, developing weight loss, prostration, urinary pain and anorexia before being killed;
or 1,136 of these small rodents implanted with a tumor and subjected to repeated oral force-feeding with fecal matter…

To what extent has this « moderate » level of severity become the norm for procedures that are nonetheless profoundly invasive? Practices remain violent, only the indicators are adapting.

90% of animal experiments are not required by law

Of these 2,046,754 uses of living beings, only a quarter (449,790) fall into the category of « regulatory studies and routine production ». Less than half (206,987) respond to legislative or regulatory requirements, generally European. Consequently, barely 10% of experiments in 2023 are required by law.

The remaining 1,839,767 could be replaced by alternative methods.

If, like three quarters of French people, you support the end of animal experimentation (One Voice/Ipsos April 2023), and believe in alternative methods, join us in calling for an end to these outdated practices!

How to track down every last wolf according to the State: new public consultation

How to track down every last wolf according to the State: new public consultation
28.05.2025
France
How to track down every last wolf according to the State: new public consultation
Wildlife

Here we go again: the French government is once again consulting the public to modify the ministerial decree orchestrating the shooting of wolves. One might have hoped that the Ministries of Ecological Transition and Agriculture would have finally reconsidered their position and recognized that herds of cows, horses and donkeys are indeed protectable, but this is not the case! This text is just as hypocritical as the previous ones.

The administration is ever more hypocritical about protection measures

The proposed modifications are nothing more than a smokescreen… Admittedly, the notorious “vulnerability reduction measures” have finally been defined… almost six months after the first public consultation. But what’s absurd is that these “options” include recognized means of protection for sheep and goats (if only they were actually implemented…): surveillance, dogs and electrified pens. We’d be laughing if it weren’t so pathetic.

All the while, the State was proclaiming loud and clear that cow herds could not be protected, going so far as to modify the ministerial project last February at the request of the lobbies: it was the Savoie Mont-Blanc Interdepartmental Chamber of Agriculture that was behind the first amendment to the text. As for the prefects, they haven’t even bothered to carry out the technico-economic analysis required to prove this pretty fable defended by the administration. That’s why we were attacking their illegal decrees en masse.

All this fuss, only to find that the “vulnerability reduction measures” they pulled out of the hat included “real” protection measures.

But to question themselves and withdraw the provision relating to the so-called “absence of a technically valid protection scheme”, absolutely not! Breeders shouldn’t think that our dear ministers are turning their backs on them and refusing to shoot wolves. In the meantime, it’s the same old story: these “proposals” won’t be funded.

They all want wolves dead

Because yes, that’s what’s going on: politicians who hate all living creatures have a single goal: to exterminate wolves. Yet another fine example of their political hijacking: they rush to the bedside of the “overwhelmed” breeders and stir up their thirst for death even more.

When it comes to nauseating draft resolutions against wolves and trampling on their future and that of biodiversity, they always come forward. But when it comes to thinking instead of using rifles, and to actively monitoring animals destined for the slaughterhouse, there’s no one left.

The example of Camille, the latest wolf to appear in the Saône-et-Loire region, is blatantly obvious: as with his predecessor, everyone, including the Minister of Agriculture, wants to see him dead. The prefect has made it easier to shoot wolves, and has swept aside the obligation to protect flocks.

It cannot be repeated often enough: systematically killing wolves will change nothing, because others will come. These majestic animals are here, and they have the right to live.

As for Milo and Mina’s situation on the Millevaches plateau, it shows that the lobbies are fiercely opposed to the development of any form of wildlife. It’s time to get up to date: 8 out of 10 French people (Ipsos/One Voice poll, November 2024) believe that wolves have their rightful place in nature.

Act with us for all wolves in France by denouncing the inadequacy of the measures proposed in the text submitted for public consultation. And to put an end to their persecution, sign our petition.

Stop the breeders’ persecution of Milo and Mina and all other wolves!

Stop the breeders’ persecution of Milo and Mina and all other wolves!
27.05.2025
Corrèze
Stop the breeders’ persecution of Milo and Mina and all other wolves!
Wildlife

At the slightest attack, breeders call for wolves to be slaughtered. Milo and Mina are bearing the cost of this policy on the Millevaches plateau. Some farmers’ unions demonstrated on Saturday to call for their deaths. Everyone is in cahoots to wipe them out, and everyone – public decision-makers included – is making statements, each more nauseating than the last.

Hostility towards Milo and Mina is on the rise…

The very special wolf couple continue to be shot at on the Millevaches plateau. As soon as last Thursday’s attack was announced, the farming unions were already unleashing their torrent of hatred into the public arena.

Gathered last Saturday in Saint-Merd-les-Oussines, the farmers are calling for the wolf brigade to be sent on site, and for reinforced defense shooting to be authorized. They denounce the inaction of public authorities. Inaction, really? While the government representatives are literally lending them an attentive ear…

All wolves are already disliked in France. They’re a good excuse to get the votes of the farming world, as shown by the abject proposal for a resolution by deputies to reduce their population by half.

But farmers still want more, and will not stop until their wish is granted: the eradication of these wild canids, which are intrinsically European.

… and a lobby making more and more slanderous statements

It’s almost funny: Fabien Marcilloux, president of Modef Corrèze, says: “Our thoughts are mainly with the game. We’re here again today for the massacre of a herd.” What is he referring to? The wild animals that the hunters put to death one after the other, or those in his care before they are taken to the slaughterhouse? Either way, these words speak volumes about his feelings towards animals. It’s hardly surprising that he should attack wolves, despite the fact that 8 out of 10 French people consider their return to be a real boon for biodiversity (Ipsos/One Voice poll, November 2024).

According to Corrèze Senator Daniel Chasseing: “Wolves are not compatible with livestock farming. And when there are too many of them, it’s impossible to continue farming.” Prefect Vincent Berton, for his part, is true to the characteristic cowardice that seems to be the hallmark of government representatives: “We’re going to have to adapt. But the wolf is a protected species. I don’t think we have to learn to live with the wolf. You have to be able to protect yourselves from it.”

Don’t they mean to say that it’s livestock farming and intensive pastoralism that are incompatible with wild animals and that trample on their territory? They’re at home here, and as much a part of nature as we are. Wolves have the right to live. Let’s prevent their extermination!

And yet: as in Saône-et-Loire, where Camille is already being hunted down, the prefect has also called in the wolf brigade in June: Milo and Mina’s days are numbered… We’ll fight to the bitter end for them. Join our fight by signing our petition to end the persecution of wolves.

Wolves: in the Saône-et-Loire region, let’s save Camille, threatened with imminent slaughter

Wolves: in the Saône-et-Loire region, let’s save Camille, threatened with imminent slaughter
19.05.2025
Saône-et-Loire Wolves: in the Saône-et-Loire region, let’s save Camille, threatened with imminent slaughter
Wildlife

Wolves are being exterminated one by one in the Saône-et-Loire region, and Camille, the latest arrival, is no exception. The lieutenants of louveterie and pests, under the orders of the prefect, have already been after him since Thursday evening (15/05/2025). He was even the target of a shot. The Prefecture and the Ministry are always quick to slaughter a single wolf and destroy all the biodiversity he is responsible for, as long as they can satisfy hunters and certain breeders.

Photo: OFB

In the Saône-et-Loire region, the only response to the arrival of wolves on the territory is lethal shooting. The State has opted for systematic death, and these wild cousins of dogs have been shot one after the other, in 2020, 2021 and 2023.

Barely arrived, already hunted down

When Camille’s presence in the village of Morey was confirmed, hateful reactions abounded: the FDSEA and Jeunes Agriculteurs 71, true to form, called for the kill in an open letter.

As usual, the Prefect bowed to the wishes of the breeders, who have always refused to protect their herds destined for the slaughterhouse. He facilitated the shootings, without in any way requiring the implementation of protective measures.

Camille has therefore become prey since last Thursday. “The wolf was shot on Thursday evening, but missed,” said the prefect, much to his dismay.

The prefect is rubbing his hands, however, as he has summoned the OFB’s national brigade to get the wolf. A veritable hunt is underway. Financed by taxpayers.

Only one solution: cohabitation

It’s inconceivable to hate nature so much. It’s obvious that the successive culling of every wolf in the Saône-et-Loire region has done nothing to reduce the number of attacks. Every time a wolf is killed, another one takes their place. It’s time to stop constantly playing the fear card and refusing to question the situation. It’s high time for the State to assume its responsibilities and encourage farmers to assume theirs. Muriel ARNAL President of One Voice

Electrified pens, guard dogs and human presence: these are the solutions for “protecting” animals. Contrary to what the French Minister of Agriculture claims, there are other solutions than culling, which proves cruel and ineffective every time.

Why always kill rather than live together? 7 out of 10 French people (Ipsos/One Voice poll, November 2024) think that it is unacceptable for the State to slaughter animals from protected species for the simple reason that they may represent a risk to livestock farming, and 81% consider that the return of wolves to France represents a real benefit for biodiversity.

Another path is possible, as in Mexico or Abruzzo.

For all the wolves in France, we are present wherever they are in danger, as for Milo and Mina, but also before the courts where we are challenging the decrees administering their death. To put an end to their persecution, sign our petition!

After isolation and suffering at Marineland, Fox was sent to endless exploitation

After isolation and suffering at Marineland, Fox was sent to endless exploitation
16.05.2025
Antibes
After isolation and suffering at Marineland, Fox was sent to endless exploitation
Exploitation for shows

In November 2024, two seals and four sea lions were shipped from Antibes to the Madrid zoo, where their exploitation has resumed. While Marineland continues to dispose of the animals that made its fortune, many are still languishing in the French park’s pools. Such was the case with Fox, the Steller sea lion whose stereotypical behavior is clearly visible in our images, until his departure on May 8. Pierre Gallego, a veterinarian specializing in marine biology and consultant for One Voice, gives us his analysis.

On April 24, at the Antibes dolphinarium, Wikie and Keijo, but also the dolphins, are still locked up. Among them, we witnessed the distress of Fox, a large male weighing almost a ton. Arrived in Antibes in 2013, the Steller sea lion shared his tank with two of his congeners: Boris and Laska. For the past few months, he had been vegetating there alone, amidst algae accumulating on the floor and fragments floating on the surface. In our images, we see him in full stereotypy, swimming slowly in a circle, taking the same path over and over again, passive and indifferent to his surroundings. How could it be otherwise when there’s no enrichment to be found in this aquatic prison? The only “entertainment” added is a vulgar jet of water. It would be laughable if the situation weren’t so dramatic.

Appalling conditions of confinement

Even when Fox might have hoped to be distracted from his miserable existence at feeding time, this was not the case. 1 minute and 24 seconds: that’s how long the keeper spent with him when feeding him. Not a second longer, and certainly not for any interaction with him. Once he’d had his pittance, Fox was back to his solitary confinement… and his pool laps.

The conditions in which this Steller sea lion is kept are largely inadequate, insufficient, and cause him psychological suffering that is intolerable in a 21st century European institution. The lack of involvement of the keepers, as well as the absence of a permanent veterinarian, only amplify my professional concerns. Dr Pierre Gallego veterinary consultant for One Voice

Dr. Pierre Gallego has studied our images. For this veterinarian specializing in marine biology, there’s no doubt: Fox’s attitude is “a typical example of stereotyped behavior, stemming from profound boredom”. To put it bluntly: none of what is going on is okay.

Our consultant denounces in turns the ridiculous size of the pool, its lack of maintenance, the total absence of behavioral enrichment and the imposed isolation. It’s hard to imagine the pain and loneliness felt by this gregarious animal, which should have been living surrounded by other sea lions, napping on rocks, pressed up against his companions, or diving to a depth of a hundred meters. In captivity, this life – any life worthy of the name – is impossible. And the dolphinarium has done nothing to alleviate this ordeal… nothing other than to discard Fox after enriching itself on his back for over 10 years.

For Fox, as for the animals still kept at Marineland, the French government has wilfully failed to anticipate the park’s closure, abandoning the captives to their fate. We will continue to speak out on their behalf. Sign our petitions to demand an end to dolphinariums, and a sanctuary for Wikie and Keijo.