The Gers prefecture is once again planning to kill and dissect 495 foxes

The Gers prefecture is once again planning to kill and dissect 495 foxes 13.03.2025
Gers
The Gers prefecture is once again planning to kill and dissect 495 foxes
Wildlife

With no one the wiser, the prefect of the Gers region has authorised a new round of fox killings for “experimental” purposes. As was the case last month, the aim is to document their diet… at the cost of nearly 500 lives. Following the suspension of four orders on 3 March, we will once again be present at the Administrative Court in Pau on 19 March at 9 a.m. to demand the urgent suspension of these new orders.

A first victory in court… and a prefecture that refuses to give up

A few weeks ago, also in the Gers region, the court ruled in our favour by urgently suspending decisions that were identical in every respect. As a result, 660 foxes have already been spared.

All in all, the prefecture wanted to have more than 1,000 individuals killed. All this to rummage through their stomachs in the name of some obscure “scientific experiment”. And this even though thousands of them are already killed every year through hunting and unearthing.

Slaughtering foxes to better protect them: when the state gets it all wrong

On the prefecture’s side, there is total confusion: after referring to the “clumsiness” of its orders, it backtracked by stating that their purpose was to prove that the species is not “ESOD 1”. This is completely nonsensical, given that in 2023, it itself asked the minister responsible for hunting to give it this classification in the department.

As always, rather than seeking non-lethal alternatives, the prefect is giving in to the lobbies that want to see these red-coated animals, which are harassed everywhere and at all times, killed. He must reverse his decision. We are urgently referring the matter to the Administrative Court in Pau to put an end to these operations: the hearing is on 19 March. In the meantime, sign our petition for a radical reform of hunting!

1 Species likely to cause damage.

Let’s save the pair of wolves on the Millevaches plateau!

Let’s save the pair of wolves on the Millevaches plateau!
12.03.2025
Corrèze
Let’s save the pair of wolves on the Millevaches plateau!
Wildlife

In a climate of misinformation and latent incompetence on the part of State services, the only two wolves on the Millevaches plateau are in danger of being killed. While they are ready to form a family from an exceptional genetic mix, the public authorities are only responding to the hatred of breeders by shooting at wolves. Let’s save these wolves from imminent death! 

Two united wolves plagued by gunfire and government inaction

In early March and every night since, the wolf pair on the Millevaches plateau has been surrounded by gunfire. Yet no “damage” has been caused to the herds since November 2024…

This exceptional pair, which has been closely monitored by naturalists since last summer, brings together a male of German-Polish origin and a female who may be Italian-Alpine, or even the result of a mix between two lineages. Their union will give birth to a cub resulting from a genetic crossing between two different lines. This unprecedented reproduction in France could revive the lupine population in the long term. This is excellent news, at a time when permits to kill wolves are piling up and Europe has shamefully chosen to downgrade them. 

As usual, the French government sides with the breeders, claiming that there is no pack on the plateau. Even though the photos show the two wolves together as a family. This over-the-top propaganda fuels the lies spread eagerly by the extremist unions. Their only wish is to have the canines killed. It was a close call for the male last summer: he was seriously wounded by a shot, preventing him from feeding for months. Furious at having missed their “target”, the lieutenants of louveterie and pests are waiting for just one thing: to annihilate him. 

Will hatred and misinformation get the better of biodiversity?

Who remains deaf and blind in the face of nature’s feats and the intrinsic value of the beings that inhabit it? The Coordination rurale de Haute-Vienne… well, there they are again!

The union claims that the wolf, of German-Polish origin, was introduced by humans, and accuses the regional nature park and the French Biodiversity Agency. That’s nonsense! For the record, the animals of this lineage have been detected in several parts of France since 2017. It’s typical of these animals to spread throughout the country when they’re not prevented from doing so. Before casting aspersions, it might be a good idea to do some research, don’t you think? 

Once again, breeders are crying scandal where there is none, preferring to reaffirm their devastating will against nature rather than take their responsibilities to truly act and protect their flocks. Because no, shooting wolves won’t necessarily reduce the risks. The only solution is to live together, as has long been scientifically proven. 

Between the open incompetence of government departments and the calls to kill from their detractors, the wolves are facing imminent death.

We are contacting the prefect to bring him to account.

On Wednesday March 19 from 10am to 12pm, we’ll be in front of the Tulle prefecture to defend this couple. Join us!

If you can’t be there, you can sign the petition to demand peace for them.

Justice for Caramelles, the bear killed by a hunter!

Justice for Caramelles, the bear killed by a hunter!
12.03.2025
Ariège Justice for Caramelles, the bear killed by a hunter!
Wildlife

At the end of 2021, Caramelles was killed in the Ariège region during an illegal hunt in the heart of the Mont Valier hunting and wildlife reserve. She left behind two cubs, left to fend for themselves. Following our complaint, the investigation identified 16 poachers, all of whom bear responsibility for her death. They will be tried on 18 and 19 March from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the legal tribunal in Foix, where we are part of the court action.

The sound of bullets, the silence of the Ministry

20 November 2021. During a wild boar hunt, several hunters knowingly entered the Mont Valier reserve. The signage is clear; they cannot ignore the fact that this is a protected area.

Caramelles and her cubs, already paralysed with fear by the screams and projectiles whistling through the air, have the misfortune of crossing paths with one of the shooters. Seeking to protect her cubs, the bear wounds the man who responds by killing her. She thus suffered the same fate as her mother Mellba, who was also shot dead in the Haute-Garonne region in 1997. Following our complaint, sixteen people will have to answer for their actions in court. And what about the Ministry of Ecology in all this? At no point did it see fit to take legal action over this environmental scandal, leaving it, as always, to associations to defend non-humans and biodiversity in its place.

A mother shot dead, cubs left orphaned

We know their arguments in advance, as they do not hesitate to turn against their own people who have been caught red-handed and flouting basic safety rules. They will accuse them of being “bad hunters”. As for the individual who killed the bear, they will invoke self-defence. This does not change the fact that these men should not have entered Caramelles’ territory. Ready to answer back, these poachers have been working together for months in order to hide their crimes. We are calling for their licences to be revoked and their weapons confiscated.

There remains the question of Caramelles’ two ten-month-old cubs. They were probably still learning from their mother and had not yet been taught how to hibernate. This is at a time when the situation is critical for this species of which only 83 remain in the Pyrenees today. Every summer they are harassed by scare shots, which we are challenging in court, as it is also pointless to count on the prefectures to protect the bears. This summer harassment puts a target on the bears, opening the door to abuse by hunters.

In order to obtain justice for Caramelles, we will be present at the court in Foix on 18 and 19 March. It is out of the question to ask for her to be “replaced” at the taxpayer’s expense by one of her fellow bears captured in Slovenia or elsewhere. Animals are not interchangeable pieces of furniture. Rather than uprooting bears, the ministry would do better to take action to protect those already in our mountains.

If, like 87% of French people surveyed by Ipsos for One Voice, you believe that these animals have their place in nature, sign our petition to stop scare shots and give them a real protection.

And for all bears, we will be participating in the World Day organised by our partner AVES France in Strasbourg on 21 and 22 March.

Photo: The bear Caramelles with Boet or Esmolet in 2014, image taken by one of the camera traps located in the Alt Pirineu Natural Park (Catalonia) – Generalitat de Catalunya CC BY-SA 4.0

In the Gers region, an order to cull 660 foxes for “experimental” purposes

In the Gers region, an order to cull 660 foxes for “experimental” purposes
27.02.2025
Gers
In the Gers region, an order to cull 660 foxes for “experimental” purposes
Wildlife

In the Gers department, four lieutenants of louveterie and pests have been given free rein until December 2025 to kill 660 foxes in the name of a pseudo-study aimed at gaining a better understanding of their diet. This is utter nonsense, given that several thousand foxes are already killed in this region every year. One Voice is challenging these decrees and will be at the Pau Administrative Court on 4 March at 2:30 p.m. to seek their urgent suspension.

Constantly hunted, foxes know no respite

The prefect has given carte blanche to the lieutenants of louveterie and pests. The aim? To examine foxes’ stomachs to find out more about the diet of these red-coated animals. The usefulness of this study is questionable, not to mention the many non-lethal alternatives that could have been implemented. The killings will be carried out day and night, by all means, in 70 municipalities. And once again, the prefect is taking advantage of the situation to transfer to sworn hunters the responsibility of deciding where, when and how they will intervene. One can easily imagine them delighted: “If you want something done right, do it yourself!”

This is no longer just inconsistent, it is outright persecution. It is difficult to imagine animals that are easier to kill: classified as ESOD, they can be dug out of their burrows, trapped and shot all year round. While we await the outcome of our appeal against this audacious classification, it is a bloodbath. Not to mention recreational hunting, which begins on 1 June for these animals, instead of September for other species. 

Hunting in the name of science: a new trend in France?

The state is prepared to do whatever it takes to authorise the killing of wild animals in the name of the sacrosanct “leisure” of a small influential minority. Last-minute publication of decrees, the opening of certain hunts in several stages in order to confuse us, as well as unlimited hunts –we are used to these plots. 

Never short of ideas, it is now invoking science, as it so often does to authorise massacres in the name of experimentation. But this is not entirely new: after our repeated victories against traditional hunts, the state is seeking to reintroduce them in the name of “scientific experimentation”, which we managed to suspend partially.

We are challenging these four decrees in order to combat the persecution of foxes and the misuse of science. We will be present on 4 March at 2.30 p.m. at the administrative court in Pau. In the meantime, please sign our petitions to demand a radical reform of hunting and the removal of foxes from the list of animals that can be killed without restriction!

Suspicious death of the wounded wolf in the Saône-et-Loire region? We request a copy of the autopsy report

Suspicious death of the wounded wolf in the Saône-et-Loire region? We request a copy of the autopsy report
26.02.2025
Saône-et-Loire
Suspicious death of the wounded wolf in the Saône-et-Loire region? We request a copy of the autopsy report
Wildlife

On Sunday February 16, the crippled wolf that had been the target of a relentless attack in the Saône-et-Loire region for over a year was found lifeless. On Monday, the Chalon-sur-Saône public prosecutor’s office announced the opening of an investigation into the wolf’s death. Why? Did the autopsy reveal a possible act of poaching? We have requested access to it. And we’re filing a complaint against a person unknown.

He was the last wolf in the department. Since he was wounded in the leg in December 2023, he had survived with difficulty, still a victim of the obsession of breeders and authorities determined to finish him off. Our proposal to the prefecture to take him in had gone unheeded… In its view, it was clearly better to wait for him to die, one way or another. In mid-February, its wishes were granted.

But the story doesn’t end there. Yesterday, the Chalon-sur-Saône public prosecutor’s office announced the opening of an investigation into the wolf’s death. Why are the courts taking up the case? Has the autopsy revealed that it was not a natural death? Was the wolf shot illegally? Or worse, had he been cowardly poisoned, like others before him?

Wherever wolves are endangered, we counterattack

In the Alpes-Maritimes region, too, the authorities are stubborn. So much so, in fact, that they are extending the reinforced defense shootings, without carrying out any new examination of the situation. We have, of course, called for these measures to be suspended as a matter of urgency. 

Nurtured by the powerful livestock and hunting lobbies, hostility to wolves is such that the European Commission has not hesitated to call for an accelerated adoption of the proposal to downgrade these animals. A lethal measure at a time when wolf populations remain fragile, and for which there is no scientific justification. We immediately made an inter-associative request, which was accepted. With our partners, we are now taking our arguments to the European Court of Justice. And we’re launching the European Action Wolves campaign to amplify the voice of wolf defenders throughout Europe.

Join the mobilization by signing our petition to put an end to the persecution of wolves.