Animal trafficking: Leboncoin is back publishing adverts from a wild cat skin seller

Animal trafficking: Leboncoin is back publishing adverts from a wild cat skin seller
22.03.2024
Animal trafficking: Leboncoin is back publishing adverts from a wild cat skin seller
Wildlife

On Leboncoin, three adverts offering wild cat skins for sale have been put online like they are simple objects, even though they are borne from illegal trafficking. They have no place on this platform, which has once again turned a blind eye to animal trade and cannot even manage to follow their own rules. We are filing a complaint for these victims of poaching.

A few days ago, on the Leboncoin platform, a seller clearly acting under a pseudonym put three adverts online in the hope of selling wild cat skins. It is therefore possible for any buyer whatsoever to acquire a “rug”, stolen off an animal’s back, for no more than 10 or 20 euros. And all this in total peace.

Even though the victims of these acts belong to a triple-protected species. This far from stops traffickers: globally, the illegal trade of wild animals and their ‘derived products’ can reach up to some 20 billion euros per year. And France is included in this since it is one of the European Union countries where the majority of these exchanges are concentrated.

Leboncoin is complicit in animal trade

Did the company already forget about the statement that they published in September 2023, announcing that they would (finally!) ban the sale of these animals? We have to believe that they have… Behind the advert results, checks seem to still be non-existent.

At the end of 2023, with the help of our partner, the École du Chat Libre de Toulouse [Toulouse School for Stray Cats], who are also working with us in this new proceeding, we filed a complaint against Leboncoin for thousands of our companions being given away un-microchipped and sometimes even before the legal age. A completely illegal and irresponsible lack of checks, while thousands of animals continue to be slaughtered in pounds every year and rescue centres more and more desperately lack spaces.

We are referring to the legal system

For the animals who try their best to live far away from humans, we also condemn these failings that facilitate trafficking and allow poachers to do their trade off the back of their victims. And for the felines who have paid the price for these practices, we are filing a complaint against the seller.

To demand an end to the trade of living beings online, continue to write to the managing director of Boncoin by using their contact form or by sending them our template letter to the postal address shown on it.

A mass grave for foxes in Jura: we are filing a complaint!

A mass grave for foxes in Jura: we are filing a complaint!
20.03.2024
A mass grave for foxes in Jura: we are filing a complaint!
Wildlife

A horrific scene in Morillon in Jura, where decomposing foxes’ bodies have been discovered at the river’s edge. What is most shocking about the scandal is that this mass grave is the work of a lieutenant of louveterie and pests, a hunter commissioned by the mayor or prefect to kill animals considered to be “problematic” for purely ideological reasons. For these foxes, and faced with the risk of polluting the river water and those who live in it, One Voice is joining forces with the Athénas Centre and filing a complaint.

Killing animals and polluting the environment: when lieutenants of louveterie and pests no longer have a limit

Foxes are systematically accused of all evils, particularly by the authorities who organise official hunts and instruct lieutenants of louveterie and pests to line one kill up after the next year-round. Most often, these operations are illegal and are simply a justification to satisfy hunters. In January, we also obtained the cancellation of eight decrees by the Nièvre prefect.

When these hunts are authorised, it is a real playground for lieutenants of louveterie and pests who are able to merrily kill dozens or even hundreds of animals! Then, after taking their lives, the shooter simply threw the foxes on the side of the river… with presumed disregard and at an increased risk of polluting the water with the decomposing bodies. One Voice is joining forces with a partner and filing a complaint, because the suspension of the person responsible for these acts does not take away from the severity of them.

Unlimited persecution of foxes

Each year, far from the half a million stated – which does not take into account those that are poached and leaves numerous individuals killed by hunting to pass under the radar – almost a million of them are killed. Already targeted under the context of hunting with guns, hounds, and official hunts, including during the night in some areas, they are also caught in traps in many departments given that they are included on the infamous list of ‘species likely to cause damage’ that we have attacked. And their ordeal continues with those digging them out, not even sparing the young as we have shown in our infiltration investigation.

For these red foxes, to say stop to these massacres, and to oppose all those who despise animals and nature, sign our petitions to take foxes off the ‘species likely to cause damage’ list and for a radical reform of hunting!

A new hearing in Réunion in the face of tenrec persecution!

A new hearing in Réunion in the face of tenrec persecution!
20.03.2024
A new hearing in Réunion in the face of tenrec persecution!
Hunting

As soon as it is suspended, it is reopened! In Réunion, collusion between hunters and the prefecture is coming to light. Although the administrative tribunal came down against digging out tenrecs twice in a few months, the prefect chose to defend the practice tooth and nail by authorising the killing of several thousands of them despite everything. To stop this planned massacre and these unacceptable methods, we are going back to the tribunal: the hearing is in Saint-Denis on 4 April at 2:30pm!

Updated 05 April 2024

We have just learnt, with much disappointment, that our second plea has been rejected by the Réunion prefecture. Diggers can therefore continue to kill tenrecs in the days to come. In any case, our relentless actions will allow the authorised hunting season to be halved and will highlight the prefect’s clear position from this point forward: leave the hunters to decide upon suitable rules themselves. While waiting for the tribunal’s definitive decision, which will be given in a few months, we will continue the fight for tenrecs!

 

After a short respite, is France in favour of tenrecs?

At this very moment, the young are leaving their burrows to discover the Réunion forests. Accompanied by their parents, they are learning to come out and feed themselves in this new environment. For the first time in many years, they have been able to get through the month of February without being slaughtered. A few days ago, the Saint-Denis administrative tribunal, who we had referred to, had in fact urgently suspended the opening of the hunting season, confirming their decision of December 2023 that definitively cancelled an older decree.

But this respite was short-lived: the prefect passed a new law and, at the time of writing this article, diggers threw their dogs down into the burrows to hunt down tenrecs. And to make amends, the state representative even authorised digging out every day for a month, instead of the usual three days per week…

We are starting the fight up again against the prefect’s contempt for tenrecs and the legal system!

This shows the total lack of respect that the Réunion prefect has for the legal system and general interests…. In a few weeks, he has simply brushed aside clear rulings. And, the cherry on the cake, he published his decree the same day of the opening – a well-known scam to allow hunters to indulge in their morbid hobby in complete peace while waiting for the hearing.

Although the prefect is supposed to represent all citizens, in Réunion things are now clear: he has chosen the side of hunters and their traditions, going so far as to leave them to draft the prefectural decree themselves. He has sent a clear message to all Réunion residents who are opposed to this practice: your voice does not count.

It is about time to put an end to systematic collusion between the State and this small group of very powerful individuals, which leads to a real disaster for animals. For tenrecs, we will once again be at the Saint-Denis administrative tribunal on 4 April at 2:30pm! While waiting, you can still sign our petition for a radical reform on hunting!

Memphis: another horse who is a victim of hunting

Memphis: another horse who is a victim of hunting
13.03.2024
Memphis: another horse who is a victim of hunting
Hunting

Around 45 million lives are stolen every year due to various types of hunting. And this is only the tip of the iceberg: added to all of these animals voluntarily killed are those who are poached and those who are injured and killed “by accident”. The most recent example to date: Memphis. This 23-year-old horse was grazing peacefully in his field in Charente when he was killed by a bullet. Unsurprisingly, the investigation was dismissed…

Hunting: a constant danger for all animals… and humans

9 December 2023 could have been an ordinary day for Memphis and his family… but hunters decided otherwise. On that day, the bay-coloured horse was found dead in his field, lying in a pool of blood, a deep wound on his side. His autopsy revealed that the injuries had been caused by a bullet. A coincidence? A hunt had taken place on the same day in close proximity to the field…

Faced with suspicion, hunters obviously outright denied it… And even threatened the whistleblower. “The police have no evidence, and neither do you, so it wasn’t us!” […] When you are dead, you’ll stop being a pain in our arse”. Nothing less…

Faced with these tragedies, we are launching an appeal to the authorities!

Far from being an isolated example, this death is added to the long list of all domestic animals who are victims of this cruel practice. Cats and dogs of course, mutilated by traps set in forests, like Snooky or Cooper, but also many horses: from Connemara to Olympe and also New Song, all of them have been slain by “accidental” bullets; the threatening and armed men who were practising their weekly hobby obviously have nothing to do with it…

While the investigation to find those responsible has been closed with no further action, we are appealing to the mayor: after such a tragedy, it is about time that this deadly hobby is banned in the areas close to homes and pastures. To put an end to these tragedies, sign our petitions for a radical reform of hunting and for horses to benefit from domestic animal status!

Galliforme hunting suspended in Ariège in 2021: moving towards an annulment? Hearing on 15 march 2024

Galliforme hunting suspended in Ariège in 2021: moving towards an annulment? Hearing on 15 march 2024
12.03.2024
Galliforme hunting suspended in Ariège in 2021: moving towards an annulment? Hearing on 15 march 2024
Hunting

Although our emergency action made it possible to prevent the massacre of ten rock ptarmigans and thousands of grey partridges in the Pyrenees (mountain Galliformes), in Ariège, we are now waiting for the Toulouse administrative tribunal to definitively decide upon the illegality of this decree published by the department’s prefecture in September 2021. The hearing is set for 15 March 2024 at 9:30am.

Updated 2 April 2024

Victory in Ariège! With their decision on 29 March 2024, the Toulouse administrative tribunal has definitively cancelled the decree authorising mountain Galliforme hunting in 2021. Our emergency interim proceedings have already allowed the urgent suspension of this law and have saved the rock ptarmigans and grey mountain partridges used as targets. Let’s hope that the prefect and hunters have heard the message: the time has come to put the guns down and to leave these birds (and all other animals too) in peace.

Always there when it comes to harassing animals to death, the Ariège prefect had authorised, for the 2021-2022 season (like they did for all the others…), the hunting of thousands of grey partridges in the Pyrenees (20 per shooter!) and ten rock ptarmigans. Within a few days, we had obtained an urgent suspension of this decree.

In Ariège, prefects and hunters go hand in hand with galliformes

The judges’ decision left no room for doubt: authorising the deaths of hundreds of birds directly endangers the very survival of the entire population that is already subject to so many threats. The time for urgency has passed and the legal system will now definitively decide on our request, scarcely a few months after having cancelled the decree relating to the 2020-2021 season.

How many rulings do there need to be before these birds are left in peace?

Although frustration is high in the face of this determination to organise the massacre of thousands of these individuals who simply just wish to live, we will continue to give them a voice and defend their existence wherever they are targeted. Since 2020, in Ariège, our actions have allowed thousands of them to be saved (or even the whole species if we are to believe the judges), in line with our numerous victories in France in Autumn 2023.

For the hazel grouse, rock partridges, black grouse, rock ptarmigans, and grey mountain partridges, for all beings inextricably linked to mountainous landscapes, killed for the sole pleasure of a small minority of individuals, and for so many others, support our requests for them by signing our petition for a radical reform of hunting!

Tenrecs: the prefect outdoing everyone else with hunting authorised every day?

Tenrecs: the prefect outdoing everyone else with hunting authorised every day?
11.03.2024
Tenrecs: the prefect outdoing everyone else with hunting authorised every day?
Hunting

The tenrec hunting saga continues in Réunion… Although the massacre was suspended thanks to our emergency action in front of the Saint-Denis administrative tribunal, the prefect now plans to open digging out from 15 March, every day of the week instead of the three days normally allowed. A way to satisfy hunters who, clearly, have access to the prefecture to the point where they are drafting prefectural decrees themselves…

Several thousand tenrecs used as targets… including the young

At this time of year, although the austral summer is coming to an end, tenrecs are in the middle of their breeding period. The families are growing and the young do not risk venturing out of their burrows alone. They are entirely dependent on their parents to feed them and to survive. This is the precise period in which the prefect has authorised them being hunted down and subsequently killed.

Although many hunters are attached to this traditional practice, no tradition has ever or will ever justify making animals suffer. Because for tenrecs, it is carnage: entire families are killed by dogs, and those who survive are killed by any available means.

Hunters weild their pens to be able to kill every day!

It is an understatement to say that the prefect of Réunion has taken up the cause of those digging them out. Even though the Saint-Denis administrative tribunal has definitively cancelled the 2022 decree, the prefect put out a draft decree that is identical in every aspect for consultation in 2024, which was immediately suspended by the tribunal.

A few minutes after it being put online, we discovered that the draft decree and the decree itself had been drawn up…. by the Federation of Hunters and its representatives! A wave of panic at the prefecture, which immediately suspended the consultation before opening a new one. But to our great surprise, the authors of the draft decree are still representatives from the Federation! One single thing was changed: they now plan to authorise hunting every day instead of the usual three days per week. In short, they are passing a new illegal decree to be forgiven for having passed one that was just as illegal the time before…

It is scandalous that a representative of the State defends particular interests rather than general interests for the protection of tenrecs and the natural heritage of the island. To express your dissatisfaction, participate in the consultation up until this evening!

Hunting dogs rescued from a repeat offender hunter-breeder from Dordogne who left for Haute-Vienne

Hunting dogs rescued from a repeat offender hunter-breeder from Dordogne who left for Haute-Vienne
04.03.2024
Hunting dogs rescued from a repeat offender hunter-breeder from Dordogne who left for Haute-Vienne
Hunting

Around seventy dogs, geese, rabbits, and goats were kept in what we can only describe as a dumping ground. In other words, a farm building turned into a hellish place of filth and stench for the animals. This is where, on the morning of 4 March 2024, a group of police from the canine department, agents from the Haute-Vienne DDPP, and the mayor of the town where Richard Mandral’s new home is located, were dispatched. As the authorities’ first choice of representative, One Voice was there with its partners to save all of the dogs and to try to put a full stop to this hunter-breeder’s activities.

Along with the Haute-Vienne prefectural veterinary services, since January – and after much investigation footage and many legal proceedings in Dordogne since 2018 – we have moved heaven and earth to secure the maximum number of places in our partner rescue centres throughout France. We were able to rescue most of them. Other organisations had responded to a request from the administration as part of the legal proceedings, and were able to leave with the others. Thanks to them for their assistance. In the afternoon, the dogs were en route to the warmth of a loving home. They will initially be able to benefit from any care necessary, which is provided by professionals.

Run away and start again…

He had already adapted after being convicted for belonging to the Dog Connection network in the 1980s when hunting dogs, in addition to what they had already experienced, were sent to labs, following the summer of 2021, after his other conviction involving our rescue of sixteen of his dogs and multiple investigations, the repeat offender left Dordogne. He moved his out of control activities in breeding hunting dogs to a village situated at least 100 kilometres from there, in another department and even another region. What better way to escape the authorities, neighbourhood conflicts, and visits from our investigators? And to identically reproduce the operation, or even extend its harmful effects to other species…?

At the start of January 2024, we knew that the situation had – clearly – worsened in Haute-Vienne. We alerted the authorities and offered our logistical support. We had to act, and quickly. But without any places in rescue centres, it was not possible to do anything.

…a typical way of life for this hunter-breeder

On site, the dogs were not alone in wading distressed in mud and faeces. Rabbits were caged, chickens, geese, ducks, and turkeys joined their yelping cries. In the middle of the frosty hills, in a hutch in this cursed place, a rabbit snuggles against the lifeless body of its companion. Shut up in a van at the entrance to the property, a goat and its kid gaze upon the second baby that did not survive the birth that, according to the owner, happened overnight…

Nothing will stop us when it comes to these so-called “hunting” dogs!

Disputed by the hunting community, despite the videos and veterinary certificates which attested to the severity of the situation and despite a legal system that has refused to come down hard since 2019 because it only involved so-called “hunting” dogs, we have not given up.

Among our team and our supporters, no one forgot those sad griffons, porcelains, and dachshunds, some of whom wandered aimlessly and others who dug holes around the post where they were tied, while the weaker ones died without even being noticed and were eaten by their peers in a last attempt for survival. The memories of these dogs with deformed teats following repeated pregnancies, who had so much difficulty moving, of these dogs with enormous and painful untreated tumours, still haunt us.

Fear in so many of their looks… Where are the hunters who buy them and yet say they love their dogs? They turn a blind eye.

This repeat offender, who has spent his entire life (almost eight decades) abusing dogs and exploiting bitches, must be brought to justice once and for all! We will also fight tirelessly for the other animals and will be involved in proceedings against Richard Mandral in Haute-Vienne (and will thus bring criminal indemnification proceedings). These animals must not return to him under any circumstances and it is unlikely that he will be able to keep any animal whatsoever or continue his exploitation and reproduction activities. The dogs used by humans for hunting should receive as much care and consideration as any other, and their torturers should receive punishments appropriate for their wrongdoings. Hunter and impunity must no longer go hand in hand.