News Archive - Page 20 of 129

One Voice and its partners around the world target Max Mara for its use of fur

One Voice and its partners around the world target Max Mara for its use of fur
09.02.2024
One Voice and its partners around the world target Max Mara for its use of fur
Fashion

Today, the Fur Free Alliance, of which One Voice is the French representative, launched an international campaign urging Italian fashion giant Max Mara – long targeted in France by the SIPE collective – to join its competitors (including Gucci, Versace, Armani, Prada, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana and many others) in adopting an anti-fur policy.

The campaign will take place during Fashion Week in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Thanks to the notoriety of the Fur Free Alliance, a coalition of 50 animal protection associations in 35 countries, the Max Mara anti-fur campaign will probably be the biggest ever, resulting in tens of thousands of emails, calls and posts on social networks.

In September 2018, the Fur Free Alliance asked its supporters around the world to urge Prada to give up fur. The Italian luxury brand heeded the call and abandoned it the following year, responding to the public’s shift in values. The Fur Free Alliance has also worked with Gucci, Armani, Hugo Boss and many others to establish anti-fur policies. Today, over 1,500 brands and retailers have committed to going fur-free by joining the Fur Free Retailer program.

Email Max Mara to let them know you care about animals and want them to go fur-free! Follow the news by leaving a comment on Max Mara’s social networks (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn) (see end of article).

This international campaign targets the flagship Max Mara brand as well as the Max Mara group as a whole and related brands such as Marina Rinaldi, SportMax and many others, all of which still offer fur (mink gloves, fox cuffs, raccoon dog charms or lined hoods).

On fur farms, wild animals are locked up for life in wire-bottomed cages. Deprived of the opportunity to behave naturally, they end up killed by gassing or anal electrocution. In the wild, they agonize for days in traps without food or water until trappers come to retrieve them. Often, they gnaw on their own limbs in a desperate attempt to escape.

Fur production is also devastating for the environment. Farms and tanneries are extremely harmful to soil and waterways, releasing waste and toxic chemicals into the environment. Traps, meanwhile, are not selective, often mutilating and killing non-target individuals, such as members of endangered species or pets. In short, this industry is a nightmare from A to Z.

While the majority of consumers reject fur, major fashion brands have reacted by announcing policies that ban its use. Twenty European countries have banned its production because of its cruelty to animals and risks to the environment and public health. In addition, Israel, California and fourteen US cities have banned its sale in order to create a more ethical market and stimulate innovation.

«Max Mara’s support for this archaic and barbaric trade makes it seem old-fashioned and indifferent to animal suffering. Max Mara should join its peers who have renounced fur, and prioritize compassion over profit.

»Joh Vinding, President of the Fur Free Alliance

For Max Mara to give up fur

Let’s show Max Mara that it has no excuse for promoting the barbaric fur trade!

Max Mara is one of the last international fashion brands not to have adopted an anti-fur policy, even though most of its competitors (including Gucci, Prada, Armani, Valentino, Versace and Dolce&Gabbana) have already done so.

Thanks to people like you who defend animals, these brands have understood that consumers no longer want a product that is cruel to animals, bad for the environment, risky for public health and totally unnecessary since quality alternatives exist.

Take action for the animals: with One Voice and its partners, ask Max Mara to stop using fur!

You can stop Max Mara from continuing to use fur. Write to the brand urging it to abandon fur for good!

Send a letter by e-mail to Max Mara’s executive staff and board of directors via the online form on the brand’s website. You can use the text suggested below or, better still, express yourself in your own words.

Dear Max Mara directors and collaborators,

I am shocked and saddened that Max Mara continues to profit from the barbaric fur trade when there are so many cozy, fashionable alternatives. I will not shop at your store until your brand abandons fur as many of its competitors have already done, including Gucci, Prada, Versace, Armani, Valentino and many others, committed to One Voice and its Fur Free Alliance partners.

Make the compassionate choice: give up fur. Thank you.

Hearing in Vannes on February 12, 2024 for a lion and two lionesses held by the William Zavatta circus

Hearing in Vannes on February 12, 2024 for a lion and two lionesses held by the William Zavatta circus
09.02.2024
Hearing in Vannes on February 12, 2024 for a lion and two lionesses held by the William Zavatta circus
Circuses

On July 17 and 22, 2019, in search of Sultan, we had investigated the William Zavatta circus and found that it was keeping a lion and two lionesses in semitrailers from which they never got out, considering that they weren’t even taking part in the shows. On their behalf, we filed a complaint against the circus three days later. On February 12, at 4:30 p.m., we will be present at the judicial court in Vannes to demand sanctions against the trainers and to obtain the seizure of the animals.

Update February 13, 2024:

The Vannes judicial court handed down its decision on the day of the hearing.

Justice was once again on the side of the animals, and the two trainers from the William Zavatta circus were found guilty of professional mistreatment of animals. They received a six-month suspended prison sentence, as well as a five-year ban on keeping non-domestic animals.

We’re delighted that animals are increasingly being taken into account in the courts, and we’re continuing to fight to maintain this trend!

Locked up in semitrailers in direct sunlight, without litter under their paws or water to hydrate themselves… During the two days we spent observing them in the summer of 2019, the lion and two lionesses held by the William Zavatta circus never once had access to the outside, condemned to bake in their gaol, without the slightest enrichment on which to focus their attention and get them out of boredom.

Not content with making these big cats live in indecent conditions, the circus performers hadn’t even bothered to secure their cages, exposing anyone, including children, to a potentially fatal accident. To get to the cages, anyone could have moved the removable barriers placed there. These were flimsy measures for animals that the establishment was not even allowed to keep. In fact, it did not comply with the “circus” decree, since they did not take part in the shows… as they were kept in their cage-trucks to attract customers.

A circus that revels in illegality and a missing lion

Between 2016 and 2018, we had already filed two complaints against this circus, for Sultan. At the time, he only came out of the trailer in which he was completely isolated to be exhibited during parades, a practice that was also illegal. Since then, he has disappeared without a trace, probably sold or “naturalized” by one of the taxidermists at the heart of the trade in which many circuses engage…

For the lion and two lionesses held captive there in 2019, we have filed a complaint for placing animals held in captivity in an environment likely to cause suffering, mistreatment and illegal exploitation.

And we have another procedure underway against the same circus for different animals…

On February 12, 2024, at 4:30 pm, almost five years after the event, we will be present at the judicial court in Vannes to demand that the lions be seized and handed over to us.

One Voice files a complaint for libel against Gircor, the animal experimentation lobby

One Voice files a complaint for libel against Gircor, the animal experimentation lobby
08.02.2024
One Voice files a complaint for libel against Gircor, the animal experimentation lobby
Animal testing

After months of pushing the boundaries, it’s taken the plunge. Two weeks ago, Gircor, the communication arm and lobby for animal experimentation, crossed the line with a defamatory post about One Voice. According to Gircor, we are seeking to “manipulate public opinion” by relying “on emotion to create a buzz”. With his unsubstantiated assertions, distortions of our statements and attacks on the association’s reputation, it falls straight into the realm of defamation. We have lodged a complaint with the Paris judicial court and requested a right of reply.

This latest fact-checking is no better than the previous ones, that reacted to our reports on primates and dogs. As usual, there are no links to our investigation into the Mauritian macaque farms, only extracts (“some flagrant examples of misinformation”, it seems) taken out of context to be better criticized. As for our images, they are labelled “misleading”, “lies” or “staged”.

Some (poorly) chosen pieces

The award for absurdity goes to the criticism of one of the shots: “by choosing a particular moment and camera angle, One Voice would have us believe that this is the macaques’ daily life”. However, on this shot, the first words are: “So every six months”.

Besides, the lobby is generally content to make assertions without proof. This is particularly embarrassing when it mentions AAALAC, described by Gircor as “an international non-profit organization that promotes excellence in animal welfare in science”. The idea is that, since the farm we’re talking about is accredited, it would somehow by definition respect regulations and “animal welfare”. In reality, the only independent study on the subject, published in 2014, showed that laboratories accredited by the aforementioned organization infringed regulations even more than the others!

From easy claims to unfounded accusations

Faced with the fact that the Macaca fascicularis species was declared “endangered” in 2022 (in Asia, which we clearly announced in our investigation), the so-called “fact-checking” states that Mauritian macaques are invasive. This is based on a 2007 ranking that has not been re-evaluated since, and which explicitly states that capturing monkeys for experimentation is not an appropriate solution. A fill-in-the-gaps kind of reading, therefore.

But things are becoming more problematic with repeated attributions of malicious intent on our part. We are said to have lied about various elements, to have tried to “cover our tracks”, to have staged a sequence where the monkeys are being intimidated… These are serious allegations, especially as they are false!

Defamation and right of reply

Despite the pretense of linguistic precautions, the conclusion of their article drives the point home: “Affirming, deceiving, lying, idealizing and, above all, staging seem to be the leitmotifs of this new ‘investigation’ by One Voice”. The nuance between “seem to be” and “are” – also present in the English version of their post (which considerably broadens their audience) – doesn’t convince anyone.

We dare to hope that, in view of all these remarks, the Paris judicial court, to which we have filed a complaint for defamation, will not be fooled by these false precautions. In the meantime, we have requested a right of reply.

One Voice and the Whale Sanctuary Project Propose Collaboration with Marineland Antibes to Retire Three Orcas to Sanctuary

One Voice and the Whale Sanctuary Project Propose Collaboration with Marineland Antibes to Retire Three Orcas to Sanctuary
07.02.2024
One Voice and the Whale Sanctuary Project Propose Collaboration with Marineland Antibes to Retire Three Orcas to Sanctuary
Dolphinariums

The French animal defender organization One Voice and the Whale Sanctuary Project, a U.S. charity, agreed several years ago to work together toward Inouk, Wikie and Keijo, the three orcas at Marineland Antibes, being retired from commercial display and transferred to a coastal sanctuary in Nova Scotia, Canada. In the wake of the judicial court of Grasse calling for a pause on the transfer of orcas from Marineland Antibes to Japan pending an independent expert assessment and the Ministry of Ecological Transition launching a consultation process to study non-commercial solutions for captive whales, our organizations now propose a collaboration with Marineland and the French Ministry of Ecological Transition.

«The Whale Sanctuary Project is the only current sanctuary project that can accommodate orcas. We are now working together in offering to cooperate with Marineland to retire the whales to a more natural environment that will be most beneficial to their health and welfare.»Muriel Arnal, President of One Voice

Collaboration is an essential ingredient

The Whale Sanctuary Project emphasizes that the success of retiring the orcas to sanctuary will depend on a fully collaborative effort among the staff and management of Marineland, the Whale Sanctuary team, One Voice and other partners, along with government agencies.

This approach is modeled on earlier collaborative ventures. In 2019, the Whale Sanctuary Project worked with the Russian government, Russian animal protection groups and One Voice to successfully return to the ocean 10 orcas and 87 beluga whales who had been captured illegally for sale to marine entertainment parks in China. And in 2023, members of the Whale Sanctuary team worked hand-in-hand with Miami Seaquarium staff through Friends of Toki, in a joint effort to return the orca Toki (also known by her display name Lolita) to her home waters in the Pacific Northwest, from where she had been captured in 1970. (Sadly, Toki died from chronic conditions including renal disease and pneumonia before she could be moved.)

«The impact of what was a first-ever, formal collaboration between a marine entertainment park and the animal protection community to care for a whale on site at a marine park cannot be underestimated. It demonstrated that different organizations that in the past might have been working against each other can successfully work together with shared values of respect and care for the animals.»Charles Vinick, Executive Director of the Whale Sanctuary Project

The sanctuary

The coastal sanctuary that the Whale Sanctuary Project is establishing is situated in Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia. This protected bay will offer its resident whales more than 100 acres (40 hectares) of water space with depths up to 18 meters, allowing the whales to swim, dive and experience a natural seaside environment. They will be able to explore the seafloor, chase birds on the surface and spend their time in nature while benefiting from human care for the rest of their lives.

It will also ensure that the family group stays together.

«Orcas are highly intelligent, emotionally sensitive and socially bonded animals. In the ocean, they live in strong family groups and their emotional and behavioral health is intimately connected with their social group.»Dr. Lori Marino, Founder and President of the Whale Sanctuary Project

Transporting whales to a new situation inevitably causes stress. But any such stress is multiplied exponentially when their destination is another entertainment facility where they must try to accommodate to living long-term in a concrete tank with orcas with whom they are entirely unfamiliar.

“By contrast, at an authentic sanctuary like at Port Hilford Bay,” Dr. Marino explained, “they will be able to stay together as a unit and not be stressed by being confined in a small space with orcas with whom they have no relationship. A sanctuary will provide the best chance they have for a successful life.”

Sanctuary standards

Whale Sanctuary Project lease area, Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia

The sanctuary is being designed according to standards prepared jointly by the National Aquarium, Sea Life Trust and the Whale Sanctuary Project, and published by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries.

The National Aquarium is currently establishing a sanctuary in the Caribbean for its six dolphins, and Sea Life Trust operates a sanctuary in Iceland for two beluga whales who came from an entertainment park that was acquired by its founding partner Merlin Entertainments Group. Merlin Entertainments has a policy of not using cetaceans at any of its marine entertainment parks.

An accelerated plan to meet the needs of Wikie, Inouk and Keijo

Given the urgency facing Wikie, Inouk and Keijo, the Whale Sanctuary Project has developed an accelerated approach to provide the absolutely necessary elements for accommodating the whales before completing the full sanctuary plan.

Phase One of the accelerated plan will include the engineering, fabrication and installation of a bay pen of approximately 6,500 square meters, along with temporary staff quarters and facilities, so that the orcas can be moved to sanctuary. In Phase Two, permanent sanctuary facilities are installed, along with the perimeter net surrounding the 404,000 square meters (100+ acres) of sanctuary water space.

Environmental studies

Over a three-year period since announcing the selection of Port Hilford Bay, the Whale Sanctuary Project has been conducting comprehensive environmental studies to ensure the suitability of the site for whales – and equally to be sure that the presence of the whales will not be detrimental to the local flora and fauna.

One of these studies is specific to Nova Scotia because of historical gold mining that took place across the province from the 1880s through the 1930s. Analyses of soil, water and invertebrate species at the site concluded that while the water throughout the bay is clean, the area onshore where there was once a stamp mill will need to be capped with soil, gravel or concrete at any places that may be disturbed by construction. There are also levels of arsenic sequestered in a small area of the seabed and in some samples taken from invertebrates that inhabit the seabed. We are engaged in consultations with scientists and other experts to determine whether mitigation is required.

A global sanctuary movement

Over recent years, public opinion has fueled a global movement to bring an end to keeping cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) in captivity for the purpose of entertainment.

There are already hundreds of first-class sanctuaries all over the world for land animals, including for elephants, big cats, bears and great apes who had spent their earlier lives in zoos (both public and private) and circuses. In working cooperatively and in collaboration with the entertainment industry, we look forward to a time when cetaceans are no longer confined to concrete tanks and have all been retired to authentic sanctuaries.

The end of circus life for llamas, horses, cows and dromedaries abandoned by Cirque de Paris

The end of circus life for llamas, horses, cows and dromedaries abandoned by Cirque de Paris
06.02.2024
The end of circus life for llamas, horses, cows and dromedaries abandoned by Cirque de Paris
Circuses

Almost three months after abandoning eight animals in a field in the Oise department, come rain or snow, Steve Gougeon and Cirque de Paris have just had them taken away from them today, thanks to the combined efforts of our team, its partners, the police and the local mayor. Here’s the story of a lightning seizure.

Last Monday, he was given an exemplary sentence: a five-year ban on working with animals following the seizure of Jon, Patty, Céleste, Marli and Hannah. He also received a suspended prison sentence and the obligation to reimburse the costs incurred by the association for their accommodation and care, amounting to almost 200,000 euros.

Publication in the media the very next day enabled us to go into action on January 30 to save these eight unfortunate animals left to fend for themselves, following an appeal for help. For more than ten weeks, two horses, two white llamas, two dromedaries, a watusi and a highland had been roaming a field in search of a drop of water, nutrients absent from the muddy grass of the pasture, or from the roadside shrubs, facing every kind of weather, and with only a – dare we say it – shitty truck for shelter. Only the goodwill of farmers and local residents provided them with enough to survive all this time.

In a constitutional state such as ours, associations should not have to compensate for the perpetual mistreatment of animals in circuses. There are laws governing this outdated practice. Why are they so rarely enforced?

In just one week – a fact rare enough to be highlighted – we sent out an investigator, mobilized our lawyers, filed a complaint, found partner shelters with places available and competent, sympathetic animal transporters, and finally obtained the seizure order! Record time. In less than two hours this morning, the animals were out of their hell, and without a hitch. Second record.

Their names are Totem, Orion, Teliah, Jessica, Palermo, Saba, Gaspard and Malkia. You can bring them love, kindness, support and a chance to rebuild their lives by sponsoring them.

The remarkable involvement of Noroy town council, the gendarmerie, transporters, partner shelters, the justice system and our team is to be commended.

Everyone cooperated hand in hand, because the stakes were high: saving the lives of these animals and offering them the best possible future.

One Voice is asking France to encourage alternative methods to animal testing in the EU

One Voice is asking France to encourage alternative methods to animal testing in the EU
02.02.2024
One Voice is asking France to encourage alternative methods to animal testing in the EU
Animal testing

With the outcome of the second European Citizens’ Initiative regarding animal testing in 2023, the European Union has announced the implementation of a collaborative plan between Member States. But we believe that this project is about to be rejected by national public authorities. We are immediately writing to the Ministry of Research in order to encourage France to vote for a more ethical future.

A good initiative already being hampered?

Last summer, the response from authorities to the Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics ECI was rather mixed: claims concerning cosmetics were openly rejected, and announcements of efforts to be undertaken to move towards the end of regulatory toxicology tests remained unclear. Among the positive points, in the spring, the Commission developed on a project linked to the ERA (European Research Area), with the idea of bringing together efforts in the development, implementation, and sharing of substitution methods.

We knew that the fight was far from being won. The imminent holding of a vote concerning this project, for which the result is not good, has led us, as a member of Cruelty Free Europe and the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments (ECEAE), to do what is necessary to advocate for animals alongside our government.

In favour of ethical science

We have written to Sylvie Retailleau, Minster for Research, so that France’s vote will go in the right direction. It is always good to take strong measures aiming to accelerate the transition on an international scale, and we will inform you of the results of this vote.

Of course, the end of animal testing does not depend only on this. The number of individuals used in toxicology testing is the only one to have decreased (slightly) over the years, while ethical committees approve shameful projects involving electric shocks, chronic pain, and even traumatic stress. Not to mention the industry that resists change as much as it can.

The fight continues, with you.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Poaching in Isère: night-time horror. The hearing is on 5 February in Valence

Poaching in Isère: night-time horror. The hearing is on 5 February in Valence
01.02.2024
Poaching in Isère: night-time horror. The hearing is on 5 February in Valence
Hunting

In May 2023, a few inhabitants of a village in Isère were woken up by gun shots during the night. The next day, animals’ bodies were found. In the weeks that followed, history repeated itself. The police found a number of bodies: foxes, squirrels, deer. Killed by hunters who were not worried about following the law to satisfy their morbid passion. In memory of these animals, we are asking for exemplary punishments for the four poachers who admitted to this. The hearing is on 5 February 2024 at 3:30pm at the Valence legal tribunal.

Updated 8 February

We will have to wait a bit longer before getting justice for the animals killed. The hearing for the four poachers that was set for 5 February at the Valence legal tribunal was postponed to 14 October 2024 at 8:30am. For the foxes, squirrels, deer, ibex, and buzzards, we remain more determined than ever. To the poachers – who have admitted to this – see you in October!

Photo credit: Drôme Police Force – Facebook

Protected or not, it does not matter: the only objective is to kill animals

In these small villages in Isère, foxes, deer, and squirrels did not stand a chance. The four men pursued them at night from their four-wheel drive car equipped with multiple headlights piercing the darkness: blind, the animals were trapped. The men shot; gunfire broke the silence. Where the animal’s head once was, only a scrap of flesh remained. They undoubtedly celebrated this result.

Attacking foxes, of which almost a million are killed each year without even counting poaching, and who suffer the horror of underground hunting with hounds: hours of being hunted down before being violently killed, including, often, the fox cubs… what an ‘achievement’. Deer and squirrels are also targeted: in short, any animal that passes by and can be killed.

And for animals belonging to a protected species,who are the object of all desire, a specific treatment is in store: parts of their bodies are cut off and proudly displayed around houses. During the investigation, ibex heads were found. As for the buzzards, the heads did not interest them: they were happy with cutting off their legs to keep at home.

Hunting or poaching: there is no difference for the animals!

Today, if these men are being prosecuted, it is not for having killed these animals, but among other things for having hunted at night, from a vehicle… Because the main objective of the law is not to protect animals, but hunters, and to ensure that they are the only ones who can kill with impunity. Clearly, their representatives will turn against them and, as always, look to ostracise them by playing ‘good’ hunters off against ‘bad’ ones. And of course they will ask for financial compensation. Not to repair the lives stolen from these animals, but because a deer killed by these poachers is one less for others to kill.

Some of the victims were found. For the others, if they aren’t found, they won’t be caught! How many animals have been massacred without leaving a trace, whose bodies are left where they were killed? The problem is not so much the fact that these animals were not killed ‘following the rules’, but that they were killed at all.

So yes, poachers must receive an exemplary punishment, but let’s not forget: the real problem is hunting, not the word that designates who it is that is holding the gun! Together, we are still and will always be demanding a radical reform of this “hobby” to put an end to massacres!

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Are national academies in favour of the forced swimming test?

Are national academies in favour of the forced swimming test?
01.02.2024
Are national academies in favour of the forced swimming test?
Animal testing

Behind a facade that was intended to be reassuring, public authorities have internally reacted to our campaign against forced swimming for rodents… By going to look for excuses for this test at the Académie nationale de médecine [National Academy of Medicine] and the Académie vétérinaire de France [French Veterinary Academy]. The result: a deplorable article published in one of these prestigious institutions’ bulletins. You can sign our petition to ask for an end to this farce.

In October 2022, the animal testing team at the ministry started discussing the subject of the forced swimming test with “academies”, highlighted in France by our campaign that was launched last year. A few months later, these exchanges resulted in sufficient opinions to say to the CNEA [National Commission for the Protection of Animals used for Scientific Purposes] “that it is not appropriate to… do away with [the forced swimming test] because it is a scientific necessity.”

Have academies really given a reasoned “opinion”?

Not having been able to find any trace of these opinions on the academies’ websites, One Voice wrote to them to find out if this document really existed. A few weeks later, we had an explanation:

«A group of experts from our academies have actually worked on this subject. This work resulted in an article being published in the ‘Académie Vétérinaire de France [French Veterinary Academy] Bulletin’. It was not an opinion.»

The article in question, whose title does not mention forced swimming, was published in May 2023. Signed by two researchers and two veterinarians involved in animal testing, with two and a half pages and a sparse bibliography, it is a sorry sight.

A few unwarranted statements do not make a scientific article

Generally, a scientific publication is not expected to make “lofty” claims. If we say that a test is great, or even simply that it is useful, we must be able to prove it by referring to reliable studies which have analysed the subject. Without this, we can hardly even claim the much less glorious status of an “opinion paper”.

And that is indeed the case here. Out of nine bibliographical references, only two scientific articles specifically relate to the forced swimming test. And while these pieces of writing by specialists are unfavourable here and advocate for the use of other methods, the “group of experts” from academies preferred to put blind trust in associations promoting animal testing who “support its use as a valuable tool” to find new medications…

Help us to get the forced swimming test banned

We ask ourselves how such an obviously biased opinion piece could have been published. But the worst thing is that a national commission specifically dedicated to protecting animals exploited by laboratories trusted these comments to the point of saying that they would allow “a formal response on the content and the interests of the test.”

The public must not be fooled by these sleights of hand. To help us put a stop to forced swimming, you can sign our petition.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Hearing on 7 February 2024 for an urgent suspension on tenrec hunting in Réunion

Hearing on 7 February 2024 for an urgent suspension on tenrec hunting in Réunion
31.01.2024
Hearing on 7 February 2024 for an urgent suspension on tenrec hunting in Réunion
Hunting

Despite the cancellation of their decree in 2022, the Réunion Prefect has persisted in authorising tenrec hunting once again for 2024. For two months, these little mammals run the risk of being hunted down into their burrows. We will defend them at the Saint-Denis Administrative Tribunal on 7 February at 2:30pm to get this law urgently suspended.

Updated 12 February 2024

Respite for tenrecs! Although several thousand of them will be killed in coming weeks, the Saint-Denis Administrative Tribunal has just suspended the Réunion Prefect’s decree before the hunting season has even opened. The urgent applications judge confirmed that there was serious doubt surrounding the legality of the way in which this law was passed. Above all, in substance, the ruling confirmed that this type of hunting puts young tenrecs danger, who are still present in the burrows at this time.

But victory has not yet been achieved for these animals who are victims of a cruel type of hunting and are still widely poached. With the decree only just having been suspended, the Réunion Prefecture have already announced that they are going to publish a new one to authorise a massacre of tenrecs despite everything. In addition to contempt for animals, there is also contempt for legal decisions! We invite you to participate in large numbers in the consultation that has just been launched!

Photo: A tenrec in a garden by Maryline P, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED

Just a few days ago, the Réunion Prefect took out a decree authorising a new tenrec hunting season on the island. From mid-February to mid-April, hunters will release their dogs to pursue these little animals. Once extracted from their burrows, those who have not succumbed to the initial attack will be killed by those who hunt them down…

Illegal laws that put the young in danger

We reject this situation which once again favours hunters’ hobbies to the detriment of wildlife. On 29 December 2023, the Saint-Denis Administrative Tribunal had already proven us right by cancelling the decree targeting tenrecs in 2022. Not only had the prefect not taken the trouble to justify his fatal law, but he also endangered the young present in the burrows up until spring. Why do we allow the Environmental Code to constantly be trampled on to please hunters?

But, fortunately, times are changing: in cities, more and more tribunals believe that it is unacceptable to hunt animals in their burrows while the young can be found there. Along with ourselves, 84% of French people are also calling for a ban on this practice, no matter how old the animals being targeted are (Ipsos/One Voice survey, October 2023).

So that no tenrecs, who are already victims of poaching and the growing disappearance of their habitat, are killed in 2024, we will loudly and clearly give them a voice at the Saint-Denis Administrative Tribunal on 7 February at 2:30pm.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Drugged cats abandoned on a road: One Voice will be present at their persecutor’s hearing in Montauban

Drugged cats abandoned on a road: One Voice will be present at their persecutor’s hearing in Montauban
31.01.2024
Drugged cats abandoned on a road: One Voice will be present at their persecutor’s hearing in Montauban
Strays

They were called Filou, Flash, Garfield, Panda, Pépito, Perle, Picasso, Sacha, Vanille, and the last one had not even been named. One night during the summer in 2023, they were spinelessly abandoned on a small road between the fields and forest after having been drugged. Only four of the ten cats were able to be saved by firefighters and town services, but two succumbed to their injuries. The six others were never found despite extensive searches.We are demanding justice for them. We are pressing charges at the hearing of their former so-called family at 1:30pm on 6 February at the Montauban legal tribunal.

Pictured: Panda and Pépito

Updated 07 February:
The ruling was given on 6 February following the hearing. One of the defendants was sentenced to complete a citizenship course and the other to a €500 suspended fine. There was no ban on keeping animals. A huge disappointment when 8 cats are dead or missing after these despicable acts, which should actually be sentenced with up to a 4-year imprisonment and a 60,000 euro fine.

At the end of June 2023, our partner, the Chats Libres de Mélie Association [Mélie Free Cats Association], was contacted to organise the ‘transfer’ of ten cats and kittens to a family in Occitania. After making the link between a phone call and the sordid misdemeanour, he asked us to give them a voice.

Animals are the first victims of humans’ irresponsible behaviour

In the middle of summer, when the rescue centres are saturated with homeless residents, a solution was in fact proposed to the said family wishing to separate the ten cats as quickly as possible: five could be taken in immediately, then the other five two weeks later. As usual, volunteers create more space and sort things out to welcome unfortunate animals in an emergency for oblivious people to whom we still have to explain that animals are living beings and not objects that we get rid of if they think they have become too cumbersome.

The proposal was refused at all costs by these people wanting to separate the animals immediately and without the slightest bit of effort: they preferred to abandon them, at the very likely risk that this would lead to their death. A late hour (it was June), a road that is rarely frequented, some Lexomil: the “perfect” cocktail to get rid of the cats.

The only solution is neutering

Today, only Panda and Pépito are still alive, silent witnesses of the ordeal that they lived through that night. Neither microchipped nor neutered, it is a happy set of circumstances that allowed the cowards behind these two deaths and six disappearances to be identified. Perhaps those who disappeared survived and are now subjected to the miserable life of stray cats, perpetuating the endless cycle of suffering.

Those who breed their animals and distribute the babies everywhere are initially responsible for this misery. Internet trafficking, mass slaughtering in pounds, the collapse of biodiversity: what is the State waiting for when it comes to making this simple surgical operation obligatory, like in Belgium or Spain? Our leaders also have a role to play. Impunity and a lack of awareness of solutions are what allow these problems to be repeated.

For these acts, the elements of which constitute an aggravating circumstance, we will be present at the Montauban legal tribunal on 6 February at 1:30pm to request an exemplary punishment and for these perpetrators to be banned from keeping animals. Join our fight by insisting on the implementation of an urgent plan for stray cats.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice