Mountain Galliformes: One Voice takes up the fight again in 2024!

Mountain Galliformes: One Voice takes up the fight again in 2024!
20.09.2024
Mountain Galliformes: One Voice takes up the fight again in 2024!
Wildlife

Last year, our legal action saved over 1,000 galliformes. This year again, the prefects are preparing to reauthorize their hunting. Grey mountain partridge, rock partridge, black grouse, hazel grouse, rock ptarmigan… all are targeted, even though their populations are in constant decline. They are already bearing the brunt of climate change and the destruction of grass by farmed ewes, which means they can no longer feed their chicks. From the Alps to the Pyrenees, we’ll be attacking the decrees as a matter of urgency to demand that the operations be suspended! First hearings at the Grenoble administrative court on September 27 at 10am for the Isère, Savoie and Haute-Savoie regions, and at the Marseille administrative court on October 7 at 2pm for the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region. 

In 2023, an unprecedented number of victories and hunters put in their place by the Council of State

Last year, thanks to our numerous legal victories, Alpine galliform hunters had to put their guns away just a few days after the opening of the season. Panic-stricken, they naturally sought to counter-attack by taking their case to the Council of State against the rulings that were in our favor. But the response was swift: whether in the Haute-Savoie, Savoie or Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region, the judges at the Palais-Royal swept aside and rejected all these appeals.

The hunting of these birds is sadly indicative of the outdated mentality of a small group of individuals who believe that nature belongs to them. They have no problem shooting animals of species on the brink of extinction, whose habitat is being reduced to nothing by global warming and intensive pastoralism, for the sake of their “hobby”! If hunters’ aim was the outright destruction of biodiversity, they wouldn’t be doing it any other way.

In 2024, from the Alps to the Pyrenees, save as many individuals as possible!

On September 15, the culling of these emblematic French mountain birds began in the Alps. In the Savoie, Haute-Savoie, Isère and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence regions, hunters put on their boots and, armed with their rifles, track them down to the very last corner. We won’t let them!

Of course, the prefects waited until Friday evening to publish the acts setting the number of birds who could be killed, a well-known strategy for preventing us from taking legal action in time. But we were ready, with our lawyers, and appeals have already been lodged! On September 27 at 9:30 a.m., the Grenoble administrative court will rule on the orders for the Savoie, Haute-Savoie and Isère regions. On October 7 at 2pm, the judges in Marseille will examine our appeal for the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region.

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“Affinity” hunts in the Indre region: we refer the matter to the Council of State

“Affinity” hunts in the Indre region: we refer the matter to the Council of State
20.09.2024
Indre
“Affinity” hunts in the Indre region: we refer the matter to the Council of State
Wildlife

The judge presiding over summary proceedings at the Limoges Administrative Court has just rejected our appeal against the decree authorising “affinity hunts” for wild boars in the Indre department… without even considering its legality! He refused to rule in an emergency procedure, so we will have to wait many months –with how many wild boars killed?– before obtaining a final judgement.  Faced with the risk of prefects massively transferring their powers to hunters, we are challenging this judgement before the Council of State.

In the Indre region, the prefect’s blank cheque to hunters validated by the court

A few days ago, we applied to the emergency judge to suspend this decree authorising “affinity hunts” –a concept invented from scratch by the prefect to allow the killing of as many wild boars as possible. However, the judge rejected our request without even considering the legality of the decree in question. He simply considered that, in view of the statistics put forward by the prefecture on the damage incurred, the hunts could not be suspended as a matter of urgency, whether legal or not.

This rejection is all the more incomprehensible given that wild boars are hunted everywhere and all the time in the region. For most species, the hunting season is open between September and February. For the boars, it is all year round! And they can be killed because they are classified as a species likely to cause damage (ESOD). But even all this is never enough for them, and the prefect has simply decided to transfer his power to the hunters. The hunters must be rubbing their hands with glee: “If you want something done right, do it yourself”, they are no doubt saying… But that is without reckoning with our determination to have this unacceptable decision suspended.

Stop the abuses! We are taking the matter to the Council of State

Convinced that the prefectural decree will be declared illegal at the end of the proceedings, which should be completed in several months, we have decided to bring this case before the Council of State. It is unacceptable that the organisation of hunts that are already so often illegal, should be delegated to the lieutenants of louveterie and pests without any control or guarantees.

We therefore expect the Council of State to reaffirm the primacy of the law and send a clear message to the prefects: “You are responsible for the public interest, not the interests of hunters!”. To help us get this message across, please sign in favour of a radical reform of hunting!

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Strict wolf protection: 300 European NGOs co-sign a joint declaration

Strict wolf protection: 300 European NGOs co-sign a joint declaration
19.09.2024
Strict wolf protection: 300 European NGOs co-sign a joint declaration
Wildlife

With the EU due to hold a decisive meeting in the near future to discuss the proposal to lower the level of protection for wolves, over 300 European organizations, including One Voice, are voicing their opposition to this retrograde project, in a joint statement published on September 19 at the initiative of the European Environmental Bureau (EEB).

Don’t reverse conservation progress: EU must step up coexistence efforts and maintain strong wolf protection!

The undersigned civil society and animal welfare organisations call on EU Member States to reject the European Commission’s proposal to weaken the protection status of wolves under the Bern Convention. We urge you to instead intensify efforts to achieve coexistence with large carnivores, such as wolves and bears.

The wolf is a strictly protected species and must remain so according to scientific evidence. Once nearly extinct due to persecution, hunting and habitat destruction, wolves have made a remarkable comeback to Europe’s landscapes, due to the legal protection granted by international and EU law, as well as the efforts of competent environmental authorities, farmers, scientists, NGOs, and local communities. However, their populations are still far from being in a good and viable conservation status (1). The latest IUCN assessment shows that six out of nine transboundary wolf populations in the EU are vulnerable or nearthreatened. Lowering their protection now would put the species at greater risk and undermine the EU’s legal requirement to achieve viable and stable wolf populations.

At present, there is no scientific basis to support an EU-wide modification of the existing legislation. The wolf’s recovery is still ongoing, and the main objectives of both the Bern Convention and the Habitats Directive (i.e. to ensure the restoration and conservation of endangered species) have not yet been reached. Additionally, and as confirmed in the Commission’s in-depth analysis, there is no scientific evidence that culling effectively reduces depredation on farmed animals. The objective of the Commission proposal is to reduce such wolf depredation, but there is no scientific evidence on the effectiveness of culling to achieve this. In fact, it could even be counterproductive, and increase attacks on farmed animals since it risks disrupting the wolves’ social structure.

The Commission’s proposal comes at a time of ongoing efforts to achieve coexistence between local communities and wolf populations. Over the past decade, the EU and its Member States have invested significant time and resources to enhance coexistence. This is facilitated by several EU and regional platforms, and successful LIFE-funded projects showcasing mutually beneficial solutions in the short and longer term. The proposition to reduce wolf protection undermines all those efforts and investments. It would be a shift away from the EU’s goal of achieving harmonious coexistence between humans and large carnivores.

We acknowledge the challenges that arise from the return of the wolf in some EU regions, and the impact it can have on individual farmers and animal owners. Therefore, stepping up efforts to make existing prevention measures, such as fencing, guarding dogs and reinforcing human presence, more accessible for animal owners and supporting them with the appropriate prevention tools is essential. Efforts should be maintained to adapt existing solutions to their needs. Moving away from a coexistence approach towards lowering of the protection of the wolf would ignore all the farmers who have invested in and are successfully protecting their herds from wolves for years.

It is essential to recognise that safeguarding wolves in Europe goes beyond protecting a single species; it involves preserving biodiversity and fostering a balanced living together with nature. Wolves play a vital role in ecosystem stability. Their return to regions from which they had once been eradicated marks a significant conservation achievement. In the current global biodiversity crisis, we cannot risk compromising this progress.

Recent surveys indicate strong public support across Member States for maintaining stringent protections and promoting coexistence with wolves, even among rural communities most affected by the presence of large carnivores. Wolves are an integral part of our shared European heritage and landscapes.

Rather than diminishing wolf protection, the EU should instead:

• Maintain and enhance efforts to promote coexistence between wolves and local communities, emphasising prevention measures to reduce depredation on farmed animals and improving compensation schemes. Many Member States should make better use of existing information on co-existence measures, good practice examples and available EU funding opportunities.
• Ensure proper enforcement of the existing legal protection provided by the EU Habitats Directive across all Member States and eliminate illegal hunting of wolves. Member States must deter environmental crimes, not legalise them, as confirmed in a recent case of the Court of Justice of the European Union (2).
• Support initiatives to raise citizen awareness and provide accurate, science-based information about wolves to the public, including on the ecosystem and socioeconomic benefits provided by large carnivores, and the appropriate behaviour in case of an encounter. EU citizens have the right to be well-informed.
• Respect the due scientific process enshrined in EU nature conservation legislation. According to Article 17 of the Habitats Directive, Member States will submit their conservation status assessment in 2025. Any discussion on the protection status must be based on those reports, and not be based on political pressure.

Downgrading legal protections for the wolf would not only hamper conservation efforts, but also go against strong public support and scientific evidence favouring wolf conservation in Europe. Furthermore, the politically motivated proposal of the European Commission severely risks creating a precedent for other species and opening the door to other changes in EU Nature Laws. This would lead to legal uncertainty and set back years of effective conservation efforts across the continent. Such a move would seriously tarnish the EU’s reputation as a leader in environmental protection.

1. Wolf populations in the EU are in unfavourable or inadequate conservation status in six out of seven biogeographical regions according to the most recent assessments done under Article 17 of the Habitats Directive.
2. Judgment of 11 July 2024, WWF Österreich and Others, Case C-601/22, ECLI:EU:C:2024:595.

Original version available here

Indre prefect circumvents laws to kill wild boars en masse. We attack!

Indre prefect circumvents laws to kill wild boars en masse. We attack!
18.09.2024
Indre
Indre prefect circumvents laws to kill wild boars en masse. We attack!
Wildlife

The prefect of the Indre region has taken a further step in the elimination of wild boar populations: he has just authorized “affinity” beats, a notion completely made up by him to enable lieutenants of louveterie and pests to kill as many as they please, for seven months throughout the region. We are bringing an urgent legal action against this decree before the Limoges administrative court. Hearing on September 19, 2024 at 9:30 am.

In the Indre region, wild boars are targeted everywhere, all the time. For them, there is no respite: they can be hunted from June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025, and are classified as “ESOD”, which means that any landowner can ask to have them shot if they are on his land. What’s more, in certain “sensitive areas”, they can even be shot at night in April and May. In short, a life spent dodging hunters’ bullets.

But that wasn’t enough for the prefect, who has just decided that, for seven months, the lieutenants of louveterie and pests, hunters commissioned by the State, will be able to organize as many beats as they wish themselves. Yet the law is clear: each administrative beat hunt must be the subject of a specific prefectoral decree, which must be limited in time and geographically targeted.

“Affinity beats” to circumvent the laws

The prefect has entirely fabricated the concept of “affinity beats”, a notion that exists nowhere in the law. The aim of this strategy is to enable lieutenants of louveterie and pests to decide freely on the modalities and timing of the beats, without having to comply with regulatory constraints, and – above all? – without having to adopt a specific decree for each beat, which we could attack… A strategy which seems to be developing within the prefectures, in the image of the decree of the prefect of the Ain region authorizing the massacre of badgers, which we attacked.

By authorizing these operations for seven months without justification or limits, the prefect of the Indre region is paving the way for an organized massacre of wild boars. It’s yet another slide that could well become widespread if it isn’t quickly stopped. We are therefore taking the case to the Limoges administrative court!

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