News Archive - Page 39 of 146

Cats and dogs: the end of pet shop sales, the start of ‘click and collect’

Cats and dogs: the end of pet shop sales, the start of ‘click and collect’
15.01.2024
France
Cats and dogs: the end of pet shop sales, the start of ‘click and collect’
Domestic animals

This is an innovation of the law of 30 November 2021: the sale of cats and dogs in pet shops has become illegal as of 1 January 2024. Although this is a step forward in the fight against reckless and irresponsible purchases ‘on paper’, in fact, with it having only just come into force, these steps are easily abused. One Voice is rising up against this abuse.

Photo: Jo-Anne McArthur/One Voice

For several days now, we have been receiving a multitude of reports throughout France informing us that this or that pet shop is continuing to display and sell puppies or kittens. But some also highlight even more despicable actions.

Animals sold like objects with ‘click and collect’

Some pet shops, refusing to put an end to their business that is now illegal, are offering new services: to avoid losing money, they are now encouraging people to buy the animal on their brand’s website before coming to collect it from the shop. Like we do for our grocery shop…

Without even trying to hide it, they also explain that the puppies continue to be delivered to the shop despite the sales ban that dates back almost two weeks! Just after the vote on the 2021 law, we were already denouncing the lack of implementation of these measures in pet shops on the Côte d’Azur.

The Ministry of Agriculture is an instigator

But perhaps our leaders had not anticipated this eventuality…? This is not the case. It is the Ministry of Agriculture themselves who came up with this idea, proposing to regulate this practice instead of banning it:

«The Ministry of Agriculture indicated […] that this ban on transferring consists of a ban on the physical presentation of dogs and cats in pet shops and not a more general ban on the transfer of these animals by pet shops. The Ministry therefore believes that, if pet shops are not authorised to present cats and dogs for sale in a pet shop, they can hand them over online in return for payment. The Ministry is therefore in the process of assessing this activity, in particular by considering regulating the conditions for keeping cats and dogs as well as the conditions for handing animals over. The Ministry thinks that a modification of the regulatory provisions or training will be necessary on this subject. (sic)»

A ban that is insufficient to a great extent

The spirit of the law has been completely perverted, and impulsive purchases will be able to continue. If we do nothing, this will not get better, because puppy show kind of events are still legal and blithely trample on the reflection period, an already minimal measure imposed by law. And as animal trade has good days ahead of it, personal classified adverts are also still relevant. We are demanding an end to online sales, and it is for this reason that we filed a complaint against Leboncoin last November.

Rodents, fish, birds, and reptiles are not protected and continue to be sold like simple consumer items while associations are regretful of the annual increase in them being abandoned.

As long as animals are sold as objects and then thrown away, our companions will continue to be mistreated. Together, let’s demand an urgent plan against feline straying to put an end to abandonments and to slaughtering in pounds.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

In 2024, mice and rats continue to be subjected to the worst experiments in French laboratories

In 2024, mice and rats continue to be subjected to the worst experiments in French laboratories
11.01.2024
France
In 2024, mice and rats continue to be subjected to the worst experiments in French laboratories
Animal testing

In the middle of the end-of-year holidays, the Ministry of Research approved four projects which will subject more than 22,000 rats and mice to painful and repeated stimuli. We condemn the State’s deference for these experiments, for which they are always quick to underestimate the degree of severity.

18,635 rats and 3770 mice. All of them will be deprived of food for hours before being isolated to be subjected to acute or chronic localised pain. Immobilised, they will feel their paws being burnt with a metal filament or suffer high temperatures, as an example. These exposures could be repeated several times a day, for several days. And that is without counting the lesions caused by the products that will be administered to them, or the blood tests carried out.

Although the non-technical summary (NTS) of one of the projects tries to reassure the public by stating that “an anaesthetic is applied before each procedure that needs/allows it”, we are not fooled. The wording used itself indicates that some of them do not allow even the slightest respite to be afforded to rats and mice. When it comes to testing painkillers, as is the case here, their distress is quite the opposite of guaranteed.

Increased and underestimated suffering

Half of the animals used will endure suffering labelled as severe. For another third, it will be ‘moderate’. And you can bet that when we talk about seconds, in certain cases it is a question of chronic pain, which regulations themselves classify at the highest degree of severity. This will not be the first time that the Ministry of Research has not even tried to reinforce its own decree. When it comes to caring for animals even a little bit, it is clearly not worth it.

In France, where less than 14% of experiments carried out belong to the most severe degree of severity, accepting this type of project on rodents does not even raise eyebrows. Despite the controversy and growing opposition from citizens, forced swimming tests inflicted on these animals benefit from the same leniency. And, while we condemned the concerning increase in the births of mice presenting genetic modifications that torment them, the authorities found nothing wrong with that either.

We will continue to give the million mice and 100,000 rats tested on each year by French laboratories a voice. To find out more about what these animals are subjected to here, you can go to our dedicated website.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Several thousand tenrecs killed in Réunion: yet hunting was illegal!

Several thousand tenrecs killed in Réunion: yet hunting was illegal!
10.01.2024
La Réunion
Several thousand tenrecs killed in Réunion: yet hunting was illegal!
Wildlife

We have condemned the illegality of the decree from the Réunion Prefect authorising the hunting of thousands of small rodents from January 2022. Unfortunately, the tribunal rejected our plea considering that there was no urgency to suspend the massacre of these small unfamiliar animals in France. On 29 December 2023, so almost 2 years later, the court has just ruled the case on its merits: thousands of individuals were slaughtered completely illegally. Although this decision unfortunately does not change anything for the tenrecs already killed, it paves the way for new legal action to save these animals used as targets by hunters.

Tenrecs: the other victims of digging out

We know about underground hunting with hounds for badgers and foxes, but other species are targeted by this cruel practice: in Réunion, tenrecs are also victims of it. Each year, almost 100,000 of them are killed after hours of being hunted down. Nothing is spared for these small animals that are already poached all year round.

Their suffering is little known, much like the ecology of this unique species. Although they bear a resemblance to hedgehogs, particularly because of their quills, there is no link between the two species. Besides, we do not know much about these animals, except that they only aspire to live peacefully without the risk of seeing hunters or poachers destroy their families and their habitats at any given moment.

Both in form and in substance, this is a doubly illegal situation

After our rallying against underground badger hunting with hounds, which allowed us to obtain a suspension on this practice in more than thirty departments and to confirm a complete ban on killing the cubs, this reasoning is echoed by the Réunion judge. He confirmed what we have been stating for years: digging out carried out by hunters and sending dogs down into setts will inevitably lead to entire families being decimated, including their young.

Finally, the ruling accused the prefect of having opened the hunting period without previously having submitted any information on the tenrec population, and this despite the fact that it is in decline and is the subject of few scientific studies. Why bother with such formalities when the only objective is to please hunters?

According to the draft decree relating to the opening of the hunting period in Réunion, the prefect once again has to authorise the hunting of small mammals. If this is confirmed, we will of course be there to give these animals, massacred in their many thousands each year, a voice at the emergency interim proceeding if necessary.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Marineland: the shocking expert report for the orcas led by the Ministry of Ecology

Marineland: the shocking expert report for the orcas led by the Ministry of Ecology
04.01.2024
Antibes
Marineland: the shocking expert report for the orcas led by the Ministry of Ecology
Exploitation for shows

On 28 November 2023, the Ministry of Ecology short-circuited the independent expert report that we legally obtained by sending proper veterinarians to Marineland. We had access to the reports written by the so-called professionals. The veterinary specialist for orcas in captivity, David Perpiñàn, was shocked by the content of these documents to say the least.

The government sent their experts on the exact same day as the meeting with those appointed by the judge, forcing us to postpone it. It is now set for 19 January, but will the orcas still be there? While waiting, the veterinarians sent to Marineland by the Ministry of Ecology concluded that Wikie, Inouk, and Keijo were in good health and that the state of the pools, quality of the water, and the conditions they were being kept in were impeccable.

But since we are telling you that the orcas are fine…

The reports from the two veterinarians chosen by the Ministry agree so much that we have also found the same typing errors in their documents. And not only did they not consider it necessary to observe Wikie, Inouk, and Keijo for more than two hours in total (by comparison, David Perpiñàn spent two whole days at the sides of the pools at the end of September and made new observations until the very last second), but it also did not seem a good idea to them to consult the medical history prior to 2023.

Forced to acknowledge the extreme tooth wear suffered by Wikie, their accounts downplay these sea giants’ suffering and they twist things to arrive at the conclusion that they are in great shape. Despite Inouk’s ongoing pain, despite the heavy and recurrent treatments that have to be administered to him… the veterinarians are unfazed: according to them, Inouk is taking the medication, so he is fine.

As for Keijo, he lost 10% of his bodyweight (more than 220 kilos) between his 9th and 10th year. For an adolescent that is still growing, what could be more normal than this amount of weight loss?

… incidentally, the captivity industry agrees

The veterinarians’ documents do not cite any scientific articles but rely on the date provided by the captivity lobby (the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, and the European Association for Aquatic Mammals), whose recommendations are based on… nothing. Wikie, Inouk, and Keijo can happily flounder in water that can reach 21°C even though temperatures do not exceed 11°C in the waters where their parents were captured – no problem!

With no autopsy report for Moana, veterinarians bet that his family is not in danger

And it does not matter that the cause of Moana’s death is still unknown forty days later (a delay that is never seen in dolphinariums), the report’s conclusion is formal: no risk factor linked to his death constitutes a threat to those surviving. Oh really? We had understood that the conclusions of the autopsy were not yet known.

The red carpet is therefore rolled out for the orcas’ imminent departure to Japan. All that is missing is a little stamp and here is the consultation of the competent scientific authority giving the green light to this exfiltration…

«The 2021 law “against animal abuse” allows dolphinariums who lead scientific research projects to continue to own cetaceans. While these programs exist, they have always had a prerequisite to have authorisation for keeping animals. This law gives the illusion that Marineland cannot keep them after 2026. The park uses these false pretences to sell this incredibly unique family of orcas to the worst networks. And the Ministry of Ecology would be able to say that they did everything they could to help the dolphins and whales born in France and who they therefore have responsibility for.» Muriel Arnal, President of One Voice

To stop the transfer of Wikie, Inouk, and Keijo to pools in Asia, sign and share our petition and write to the State Secretary in charge of biodiversity as well as to your MPs. The fight continues!

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Deaths at Marineland: an insubstantial law and a government who digs orcas’ graves

Deaths at Marineland: an insubstantial law and a government who digs orcas’ graves
29.12.2023
Alpes-Maritimes
Deaths at Marineland: an insubstantial law and a government who digs orcas’ graves
Exploitation for shows

The facts about a baby dolphin who died on Christmas day: dates, names of the people in charge of transferring Inouk, Wikie, and Keijo from Marineland to another dolphinarium, biased expert reports… Faced with such a scandal, we will stop at nothing for the orcas born in captivity in France. If we have to rally an army of supporters to stop cranes and lorries from passing through, we will do so.

We have been fighting for more than ten years to guarantee decent lives for the orcas kept captive at Marineland Antibes, and then some. We have explored all possibilities to find an angle of attack for the animals exploited by the park: the dolphinarium decree of 2017 that was passed, attacked, and then cancelled and never reinstated; measures announcing the 2021 law, and then this one, full of secret ways for dolphinariums to continue their morbid trade; and working against sending them to China in 2019, then more recently to Japan…

Like Moana, Inouk has been showing signs of distress and disease for years, and more recently it was Wikie’s turn… Last September, after an appeal and two years of fighting, we obtained something which should have been a formality: an independent expert report on the orcas’ state of health and that of the facilities.

Muriel Arnal, President of One Voice, stated:

«When the State Secretary for Biodiversity suddenly launched an expert report on the same day that the experts appointed by the judge had planned theirs, forcing us to postpone, we understood. A Ministry that is supposed to stand up for biodiversity who has not stopped working to protect the captivity industry. In spring 2017, we were full of hope – a far cry from where we are now…»«We had a robust solution for Inouk, Wikie, and Keijo, which we presented, supported by orca specialists worldwide. We are immensely angry, equal to the shame that should choke those who are facilitating this deadly transfer. This family of orcas, the only one in dolphinariums, prepares to live through the most violent abuse, equivalent to being captured in the wild. We will never forget.»

A government with no consideration for the orcas that it has a moral responsibility for

For a short while, new heads have been appearing at the edge of the pools and seem to be learning the habits of the late Moana, Keijo, Inouk, and Wikie…We also know the faces, names, and titles of the people who are supposed to be participating in the transfer to another park. They are Mark Simmons, Thad Lacineck, Brad Andrews, and Grey Stafford. Their profiles speak for themselves.

The transfer of Inouk, Wikie, and Keijo should take place between 8 and 12 January 2024, during the night. The roads in Antibes will be blocked to let the convoy pass through to the airport. Marineland, with compliance from French authorities, gets rid of orcas, sending them to rot in another dolphinarium in a country where the annual Taiji killing takes place, which we helped to make the western world aware of.

Absurd and yet more dangerous ideas from Marineland’s boss

Just a few days ago, the park’s boss was even considering organising a departure drill for the three surviving orcas born in the pools at Marineland Antibes. In other words, he was mocking these cetaceans’ fear and stress, having to experience gravity for the first time in their lives while being taken out of the water, winched using a crane, suspended in mid-air and then put back into the water afterwards… for it to happen all over again ten days later.

We will not give up, especially faced with more than questionable reports and an accelerating timetable

We consider the reports issued by the Ministry after Moana’s death to be a cynical joke. They confirm that the orcas are in good health. Proof of this would be the resumption of them swimming in circles after several days of staying still in mourning; and that which the very young male died from was not contagious in the short term. We are barely simplifying… As for the Ministry, they are asking us not to disclose these conclusions. They can dream.

The date of the expert report ordered by the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal at our request should take place on 19 January… in front of pools that in all likelihood will be empty. While waiting, we have launched various proceedings to go all in.

A two-day-old baby dolphin dies in front of its grieving mother

To add to this tragedy, and still according to our information (reliable since it was published immediately and confirmed since by Marineland), Joe, a captive dolphin at the dolphinarium, gave birth on 23 December. Her baby only survived for 2 days, until Christmas day… The dolphins in the ‘lagoon’ at the marine zoo are destined to be sold or transferred to Dubai.

We do not want to have to physically (but always peacefully) interfere with the trucks that will take the orcas away, but we will not shy away from the task at hand to save them. We will go to Asia if necessary.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Wolves: the European Commission in favour of massacring them

Wolves: the European Commission in favour of massacring them
28.12.2023
Europe
Wolves: the European Commission in favour of massacring them
Wildlife

Last September, the European Commission started to collect data on the situation of wolves in Europe, while encouraging member states to slaughter them. The “verdict” was given on 20 December. They proposed to change their protection status from “strictly protected species” to “protected species”, the consequence of which would be that the exemptions allowing them to be eliminated would be further relaxed. One Voice is protesting against our leaders’ inconsistency, in particular regarding wild animals.

An anti-wolf point of view: an electioneering business asset on the eve of European elections

After the first round of eradications in France and in other countries in Europe, wolves have returned by themselves to the Alps Mountain range and little by little elsewhere in the country. These intelligent and sensitive animals, whose way of life is not too dissimilar to ours in many ways, incidentally play an essential role within ecosystems.
And yet… we still hear the same tune from farmers who perpetually blame them of being responsible of all evils.

This heinous discourse born from fear and well-established prejudice by cyno-agricultural lobbies are widely shared by the media and listened to by political and institutional circles, meaning that a second wave of disappearances in France will be inevitable as prefects are issuing authorisations for lethal shots. Especially as the European Commission is now clearly stating that they will no longer act as a shield to protect them. Much to the contrary.

If member states accept this declassification proposition, it will be submitted to the Bern Convention Committee in December 2024.

We, European people, are in favour of protecting wolves!

The most infuriating thing in all of this is that the vast majority of French people and Europeans far from share this viewpoint encouraged by agricultural and hunting lobbies.

In fact, a survey carried out in November 2023 for a group of associations in the EU (Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, and Romania) showed that rural populations are largely in favour of protecting wolves, bears, lynx, etc.
The same can be said for France, where draft decrees relating to the ‘National Action Plan for Wolves’ recently submitted for public consultation have been the subject of strong opposition and criticism. The participants, of which we are one, effectively condemned a policy that encourages and justifies this upcoming massacre. And yet, it is very likely that the laws will be published in the state.

No proposition of a compromise, no creative thinking. The only way they see the situation is in terms of competition for territory and food and the fear of children being devoured. And the only response considered by our decision-makers who have become short-sighted and astigmatic from looking at them under a distorted magnifying glass: to always kill these so-called threatening enemies.

Whether or not they are listed as a protected species, wolves – like any other animal – must be able to live in peace. We will never stop defending them and will continue to fight to stop them being shot. Join us in this fight by signing our petition.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

2023: a year in pictures

2023: a year in pictures
25.12.2023
International
2023: a year in pictures
Other campaign or multi-campaigns of One Voice

Between the happiness of rescues, the joy of victories, but also the anger in the face of the persecutors and the guilty slow responses, in 2023, we navigated a whirlwind of strong emotions. We never gave up and the results show it.

To those who give us the means to build a fairer world for animals, we would like you to share our joy and hope in pictures.

Our investigations, legal actions, rallies, appeals… they are growing rapidly. Our latest surveys prove it: opposed to hunting and animal experimentation, the vast majority of French people are with us.
We appreciate these members. They offer us a smooth landing for 2023. And propel us forward into 2024 with strength and conviction.

For the animals, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Once again, a tribunal has noted that hunting Galliformes is illegal

Once again, a tribunal has noted that hunting Galliformes is illegal
25.12.2023
Ariège
Once again, a tribunal has noted that hunting Galliformes is illegal
Wildlife

It was about time! The ruling was expected in this old case file that we have been opposing at the Ariège Prefecture since 2020. Every year, for three years, we have attacked the decisions that turn capercaillies, rock ptarmigans, and grey partridges in the Pyrenees into living targets in this department (and in many others). The Toulouse Administrative Tribunal ruled on December 19: the prefectural decree was illegal, as were the massacres of mountain birds who this ruling will unfortunately not bring back to life.

Galliformes killed illegally in Ariège

In our plea, we reported a large number of irregularities. Firstly because, as is often the case, the State has not taken the trouble to objectively show the public the impacts of these hunts on an already heavily threatened species – global warming, mountain development, tourism, logging, etc. But also because the use of guns is never acceptable, especially when the animals concerned are in a vulnerable situation. The Toulouse judges confirmed this.

This case file is the starting point for our fight for mountain Galliformes. A difficult fight due to persecution by a small minority supported by the State, wanting to maintain their morbid “hobby ». But this fight has borne fruit: this year, our actions have allowed more than 1000 birds to be saved who prefects had authorised to be killed. From the Hautes-Alpes to the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence via Savoie and Isère, all of these lives saved belong to so many individuals who will be able to peacefully enjoy the snow-capped peaks.

For a ban, pure and simple, on hunting Galliformes!

For all of these species, we are dangerously approaching the point of no return, such as with capercaillies. At the time, hunters swore with their hands on their hearts that there was nothing to worry about, that as “France’s first ecologists”, we had to trust them to protect these birds… During this time, they continued to go back and forth in the mountain ranges looking for their targets. Nowadays, capercaillies have almost disappeared, to the point where the State Council had banned hunting them for five years. But, ready for anything when it comes to killing animals, hunters have chosen to attack this decision. Not giving in to their deceptive arguments, the State Council has fortunately rejected their request.

This tactic is what they are currently using for all other Galliformes. If we do not act, France will follow and the last survivors will become a relic of a distant past when harmful human activities had not yet decimated entire populations.

Let’s refuse these massacres together! Sign our petition to demand a radical reform on hunting.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Killing in pounds: the SACPA group tries to divert attention

Killing in pounds: the SACPA group tries to divert attention
18.12.2023
France
Killing in pounds: the SACPA group tries to divert attention
Domestic animals

Following our investigation denouncing the policy for managing stray animals in France, the SACPA group has decided to refer to itself by publishing a press release in response to what it interprets our intentions to be – we are also touched to note that its Facebook and Instagram pages were created especially for the occasion – while at no point did we ever point the finger in their direction. On the contrary, we were even careful to point out that what was happening in the organisation that our images came from was compliant with legislation.

The aim of this investigation is to raise awareness among the entire population, both in the public arena and among our leaders. They need to understand that the situation will not change until real measures are taken: an urgent national plan for neutering cats; a ban on rehoming online by individuals; the strict application of the existing requirement for animal identification; the end of puppy parlours and other events promoting impulsive sales; severe criminal penalties for abandonment and acts of abuse.

“[…] ethical animal pounds” (sic)… Oh really?

Trying to justify killings by highlighting the animals who got out of this prison alive, all while implying that those who were slaughtered were “lucky” to still be alive after the legal deadline of eight days, does not in any way resolve that which we are condemning.

Is it really possible to be happy knowing that Cayenne, the Malinois whose killing we filmed, entered the pound on April 12 2023 and was killed on August 21 2023? Should we revel in knowing that he spent 133 days suffering mental and physical torture, locked within four walls without ever seeing outside, without any human warmth, without even a toy or a blanket, before being killed in cold blood, pressed against a wall, handled with no qualms until being lethally injected in the heart, spending his last moments of life alone and afraid?

Yes, we are relieved to learn that some were lucky enough to have been saved by associations after days of being locked up. But this will not make us forget the deaths; and it should not make us forget what these innocent animals experience when they go into pounds. Not everyone is lucky enough to survive and some end their days in conditions even worse than those we have revealed. On May 22 2024, a hearing will be held at the Perpignan legal tribunal against a manager at the SACPA pound in Perpignan for acts of cruelty. He is suspected of having carried out “savage euthanasias” and of having killed animals himself, which constitutes an illegal use of veterinary medicine, in addition to lack of care and abuse. We will of course be present at the hearing to give animals a voice.

We have also not forgotten the fate of the animals at the Passerelles Vers l’Emploi Pound and at SIVU 47.

Underneath all the smooth talking, thousands of animals suffer

In its press release, SACPA explained that several euthanasias happened following canine distemper. Does this diagnosis justify a living being being executed, without any consideration or dignity, in its own excrement? What does this say about the health measures implemented? With this virus being particularly contagious and dangerous for dogs, were strict isolation and quarantine measures carried out? Were the premises properly disinfected to put an end to the epidemic? We doubt it, given the number of contaminations within the pound itself and when, according to their own statement, the dogs develop the disease in the organisation, this is the reaction: “Regarding the Border Collie cross, female. Accidental arrival from the town of Peyremale. She was the source of the distemper virus […]. She was resistant to treatment. Date of entry 14/07/2023. Date of medical euthanasia: 23/08/2023.” (sic)

Transparency is a facade

We are accused of not having made enquiries, of not having contacted management for a “guided tour” of the premises. However, at the end of August, we sent letters by recorded mail to 35 SACPA organisations in the country asking them for copies of their animal records for 2022. All were left without a reply. However, a call from management informed us of their intention to publish certain data online in 2024. While waiting, we have not obtained the requested documents. Can we believe for a single moment that we would have been let in and shown the true reality by filming this series of slaughters in these conditions?

As long as the law does not change to reduce the number of abandonments and slaughters in pounds, we will continue to condemn what is happening there. Should the private SACPA group not be supporting our fight and aligning with our requests to fight against these tragedies? But why would they? With the “management” of stray animals being their business, they have no interest in seeing abandonments decrease.

Help us to change the fate of thousands of animals each year: sign our petition for the end of killing in pounds.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

One Voice’s investigation into a 5-star pound: the industrial slaughter of cats and dogs

One Voice’s investigation into a 5-star pound: the industrial slaughter of cats and dogs
11.12.2023
France
One Voice’s investigation into a 5-star pound: the industrial slaughter of cats and dogs
Domestic animals

The third part of One Voice’s investigation into pounds in France. After having condemned some peoples’ abuse, we have wanted to understand how those who are regulated work, “good in all respects” in the eyes of local councils who give them the task of “cleaning” public streets of animals that are wondering around or are strays. It was horrific there. This time legally.

Within pounds, they get the very best. Our investigators infiltrated one of the best rated “animal centres” in France to confirm what is referred to as the “management” of cats and dogs that are lost, abandoned, or born on the streets. Following our investigations at SIVU 47 and Passerelles, two establishments that are merrily circumventing regulations, it was important to have an idea of “best practices” within this sector.

Public “service”

The organisation where we led the investigation prides itself on its website as being exemplary and as doing everything possible for the happiness of its “residents”. You had to make yourself very small and film with a hidden camera to get a clear picture.

Around once a week, a packed truck drops off its load: rams, wallabies… you can find all kinds of animals inside. But mainly it is many cats and dogs, rescued from the roadside with no “owner” in sight, who end up there.

Delegated by the local council to ensure a public service remit, this private company is funded, as in most cities in France, by local taxes. Its role: to rid the local territory of stray animals, the responsibility for which lies with the mayor. The law in fact states that the town councillor can, by decree, place them in a “drop-off place suitable for taking them in and keeping them”, with the caretaker bearing the cost in cases where the “owner” does not come forward.

“Suitable drop-off place”

What actually is this? Rows of tiny concrete kennels, dogs abandoned in their own excrement, cats stored in transport crates at the back of dark rooms, an upside down infirmary… This was the spectacle witnessed by our investigators when they entered the “standard” premises where the animals are shut up.

In this world full of anxious barks and plaintive meows, new arrivals are quickly brought up to speed. No staff to reassure them, lavish them with an affectionate gesture, or even just some attention. Only their peers are there to tell them about the less than warm environment.

At least the bowls are full here, of course, but under what conditions? Incomprehension, stress, and cries for help are everywhere. Tearful and terrified looks are behind each wire fence. Only a few still express a little bit of joy when they hear the sound of footsteps. No doubt they still believe in human friendship and in a bright future. Not for long…

Death row

Because their days are numbered. After the eight-day time period, if no one has come to reclaim them, most of them are killed. At an industrial rate, even. We have to make way for the next lot and above all do the maths: it is a very profitable activity.

Our investigators filmed everything: the terror of those condemned, the capturing of dogs with a lasso allowing them to them bite themselves, the administration of lethal doses by a robotic and violent veterinarian. Abandoned by everyone except their traumatised cell neighbours, dozens of perfectly healthy animals die every day on this death row before being eliminated.

Into a skip

During this investigation, our investigators crossed paths with many of them, each more endearing than the last. However, they found them in the form of corpses, killed mercilessly, guilty of not having been loved.

Regularly, the pound employees pile the frozen or still warm bodies into a huge container to send them to the slaughterhouse. The curtain then falls for the final time on these trampled, massacred, and completely invisible lives. A way that is as efficient as it is discreet for the State to erase the tragedy of abandonment, mistreatment, and straying with public money rather than funding a proper policy to fix the problem.

Stop the code of silence!

Rally with us to break the deafening silence surrounding these cover-up mass killings. Our investigation is there to shed light on them and call them out. We demand transparency about what is happening right now, every day, in our country’s pounds where thousands of animals are killed legally on the assembly line. As long as our leaders put up with it or prefer to turn a blind eye, they remain complicit in scandalous practices even though solutions exist. Elsewhere in Europe, they take care of their animals. France must take inspiration from them!

One Voice will not stop campaigning for our country to commit to a large-scale neutering programme to resolve the issue of feline straying and ban the online sale of animals, one of the main sources of abandonments and slaughters in pounds.

It is high time to call on our leaders to take action. What is the project? Taking in animals or getting rid of them? Faced with inhumanity, what do politicians do? Are they even aware that thousands of cats and dogs are killed every year? To ensure that they are, share our videos with your elected representatives: mayors, MPs, regional presidents, and the Minister of Agriculture. And sign the petition below to demand an end to the code of silence and euthanasia in pounds.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Sign the petition against culling in pounds! Sign the petition against culling in pounds! Sign the petition against culling in pounds! Sign the petition against culling in pounds! Sign the petition against culling in pounds! Sign the petition against culling in pounds! Sign the petition against culling in pounds! Sign the petition against culling in pounds! Sign the petition against culling in pounds! Sign the petition against culling in pounds!