News Archive - Page 40 of 131

Official opening of the Chatipi for stray cats in Gagny on Friday 21 April 2023 at 11am

Official opening of the Chatipi for stray cats in Gagny on Friday 21 April 2023 at 11am
18.04.2023
Official opening of the Chatipi for stray cats in Gagny on Friday 21 April 2023 at 11am
Domestic animals

One Voice, who has fought against feline straying for years, is implementing three-way partnerships with towns or drop-in centres and local associations to microchip and neuter homeless cats and release them, while finding them a wooden chalet for them to rehydrate themselves, eat, and take comfort. The town council of Gagny, a town situated in Seine-Saint-Denis, contacted the One Voice Association to take responsibility for the issue of stray cats in the town with the help of the local Gagny Pet and Co. Association. The Chatipi programme therefore means that cats without a human family will no longer suffer from deprivation. The official opening of the Chatipi will take place in Gagny on Friday 21 April at 11am.

The official opening will take place on Friday 21 April at 11am in front of the Chatipi set up on Allée Georges Guyonnet in Gagny, near the station. It will happen in the presence of the Mayor of Gagny and the local council, the town service managers, town departments (Town Planning Policies, Celebrations and Ceremonies, Technical Services, and Animal Rights), the Gagny Pet and Co Association (signatory of the Chatipi convention), the Studies and Construction Association, and the Jacques Prévert Socio-Cultural Centre in Gagny. Finally is Lola Rebollo who is in charge of the feline straying campaign for One Voice and who will represent the association.

Chatipi: a lasting solution for the vicious circle of feline straying

Chatipi is a plan with the ethical aim of creating areas for stray cats in order to keep them safe while raising awareness among citizens of their suffering and needs. Around twenty are currently being developed. Several Chatipis have been established near residential care homes for the elderly, nursing homes, or hospitals to bring comfort to the residents, and close to schools as One Voice’s goal is fundamentally to teach about cats. In fact, we too often mistakenly describe these small felines as independent animals, when they are very affectionate, loyal, and dependent, which makes them vulnerable in the event of being abandoned.

That being said, feline straying is not only caused by abandonment. This vicious circle that involves eleven million cats per year in France at first glance begins with erroneous assumptions about them, particularly that they have an intrinsic need to reproduce in order to be happy, which leads to their human families not always getting them neutered. Many cat births take place in the wild. In any case, these kittens, when they survive, are hit by hunger, cold, and illness. They are neither microchipped nor neutered, because their humans are sometimes not even aware that these kittens exist. And so, litters only continue to multiply in these circumstances. Towns or drop-in centres must manage these individuals faced with this misfortune, which also has an impact on biodiversity.

Sharing out tasks and responsibilities

One Voice, who invented the Chatipi concept, provides the chalet and the cat flaps, 30 kilos of kibble, and the veterinary fees (neutering, microchipping, tests) for 15 cats at the beginning of the operation as well as the educational board.

The town, which has taken responsibility for the creation of the concrete base, has incidentally organised an integration project with the Studies and Construction Association and the Jacques Prévert Socio-Cultural Centre in Gagny to carry out the set-up and assembly of the chalet.

The health monitoring of the cats will be handled by the local Gagny Pet and Co Association, who will take care of catching them to be neutered, feeding them, long-term veterinary fees, and cleaning the chalet. In total, 20 cats should benefit from the Gagny Chatipi.

The One Voice website dedicated to the Chatipi programme was launched at the beginning of March 2022 and gives a lot of information regarding this educational programme on cats. Sign our petition calling for an urgent plan for feline straying.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

New Ipsos/One Voice survey: French people are largely against animal testing

New Ipsos/One Voice survey: French people are largely against animal testing
18.04.2023
New Ipsos/One Voice survey: French people are largely against animal testing
Animal testing

The results of the Ipsos/One Voice survey from April 2023 that we are publishing are indisputable: French people are calling for an end to animal testing. In more detail, the results all go along the same lines. One Voice is delighted with such enthusiasm in favour of animals on the occasion of World Day for Animals in Laboratories (on 24 April). This shared opinion by French people gives hope to the idea of the European regulations being revised currently, and, with our daily commitment, we offer support to obtain true transparency on testing and on developments by non-animal methods industries.

Not only are the vast majority of French people against animal testing (three in four), but they are against it no matter what the products tested may be (medications, drugs, or even chemical products – such as household products or cosmetics), as well as the species of animals concerned. French people also support the development and exclusive use, when they exist, of non-animal testing methods. Finally, they are clearly calling for more transparency. More precisely still:

A strong opposition to the principle of animal testing

French people are very largely (74%) unfavourable towards even the principle of animal testing, 43% of those state that they are even completely against it. This opposition is not only a majority, but it is also growing strongly. In 20 years, it increased from 10 percent (comparison of results with those from a survey carried out by IPSOS for One Voice, by telephone, from 31 January to 1 February 2003, compared with a representative sample of the French population aged 15 and above).

A significant perception gap is shown between men and women. A higher proportion of women are generally against animal testing compared with men (85% versus 63%).

Beyond opposing the principle, clear support for a ban on certain practices linked with animal testing

In more depth, we see support for a ban on animal testing intended to test different types of products. This is the case for chemical ingredients or products (66% +11 percent vs 2003), harmful products consumed by humans such as tobacco or drugs (66%), or even still for medications (65%). Whatever the type of product on which they are questioned, French people support a ban on animal testing.

French people are also very widely in favour of an end to capturing and breeding animals destined for testing. The majority of respondents support the closure of breeding farms in France and for those destined for laboratories, whether it be dog breeding farms (85% support their closure) or primate breeding farms (80%). The capture of wild animals is also the subject of a significant rejection: 81% of French people support a ban on capturing primates in the wild in Asia and sending them to France to conduct experiments.

Support for a ban on animal testing which varies according to animal species, but which systematically remains a majority

The desire for a ban on animal testing varies according to the species on which the testing is carried out. Domestic animals elicit more desire for a ban (85% for dogs, 84% for cats), just like horses (84%) or primates (81%).

If the support for a ban on animal testing is lower for other animal species, this is still the case for a majority of respondents for insects (55%) or rodents (65%).

Whatever the species of animal, we note that women are systematically more favourable towards a ban on experiments than men, each time with a deviation of more than 10 percent (91% of women are also favourable of a ban on testing on dogs, versus 80% of men).

French people vote for the development of alternative methods in animal testing

Generally speaking, French people support the idea that we must look to develop alternative methods to animal testing so that we no longer have to inflict it upon animals (81% support this position versus only 19% who consider these experiments to be a necessity for human health). We note once again that women are the most critical of animal testing: 86% of them support the development of alternative methods while only 14% prioritise experiments for human health purposes.

When alternative methods exist, French people also want animal testing to be banned. 87% are in favour of this, of which 59% are even completely in favour. They also show great support (83%, of which 52% are completely in favour, up 12% versus 2003) for the implementation of an independent authority aiming to carry out checks that tests on animals are necessary and cannot be replaced with other methods.

In order to develop these alternative methods, they massively support a progressive transfer of public funds allocated for animal testing to scientific bodies who are developing research methods without animals (89% of French people are in favour, of which 54% are completely in favour).

In favour of alternative methods, French people support the authorisation of putting medication having been tested according to alternative methods to animal testing on the market (84% are in favour, of which 46% are completely favourable).

A call for transparency within animal testing

Almost 9 in 10 French people think that it is important that the consumer is informed on the existence of animal testing, when it took place, on products that they buy. 56% of them even consider this information to be very significant.

As well as this survey, One Voice is organising action to raise awareness throughout France and is publishing a very densely sourced report on the use of primates in laboratories, after their capture, breeding, and transport, and France’s major role in this international trade. A petition has also been made available
to the public to put a stop to this trade of long-tailed macaques, an endangered species that is particularly used in testing.

Download the graph results of the survey Download the results overview

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

One Voice is publishing a new report on primates in animal testing

One Voice is publishing a new report on primates in animal testing
18.04.2023
One Voice is publishing a new report on primates in animal testing
Animal testing

In around twenty pages of rigorously sourced information, One Voice is exposing the ordeal inflicted by animal testing on thousands of primates each year. And calling on France to move towards the end of testing on animals, starting with putting a stop to the use of long-tailed macaques.

3000. This is the number of long-tailed macaques to have been subjected to experiments in France in 2020. These primates are the most often used in animal testing and the only ones to also massively be victims of being captured in the wild. Since 2008, One Voice investigators have infiltrated numerous macaque breeding farms in Cambodia, where European laboratories place their “orders” for animals to test on. Individuals are trapped, held down on the ground, then shut into cages to “produce” offspring which will be subjected to all kinds of experiments on the other side of the world… Whether it be in Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, or Mauritius, the reality is the same. And this happens even though long-tailed macaques were declared as a species in danger of extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2022.

Conspiratorial airline companies

After an initial period of being imprisoned in breeding farms, the monkeys are shoved into wooden boxes, piled up one on top of the other in plane holds. Despite a relentless campaign by One Voice against transportation by Air France, the airline company had for a long time been the only one of this calibre in Europe to continue with these horrific flights. It was only in 2022 that we could claim victory, with Air France announcing that they would stop transporting primates to laboratories from June 2023.

France at the centre of the industry

Meanwhile, primates continue to be unloaded in France. But our country is often just one step. Within the Silabe platform, an establishment linked with the University of Strasbourg, hundreds of animals were kept in quarantine before being sold to other countries in Europe.

Monkeys were then exposed to new sources of stress and suffering. In French laboratories as in foreign ones, researchers only tear them away from isolation to implant electrodes in their brains, carry out toxicity tests for medications for human use on them, or even use them to take their cells, their blood, and their tissues. After having suffered years of torture, the monkeys are killed, without ever having known anything other than the cynical reality of animal testing.

Advances attacked by testers

With the ban on importing new primates born to parents captured in the wild into the EU and the refusal from airline companies to transport monkeys to laboratories, 2022 set an enabling environment for putting a stop to testing on animals. But, even though these advances had already been difficult to pull off, the industry, very active with the media and political circles, remained opposed to any progress in favour of animals, and did not hesitate to ensure that regulations were not applied. Vigilance and action are still needed.

Backed by a new survey that shows a French public opinion that is more favourable than ever for an end to animal testing, which echoes the procurement of more than one million valid signatures from European citizens, One Voice is launching a week of action in favour of primates used in laboratories. And is calling on France to stop all uses of long-tailed macaques with a new petition.

Sign the petition Download the report : Animal testing and primates

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Meeting at the European Commission on the Save Cruelty-Free Cosmetics ECI

Meeting at the European Commission on the Save Cruelty-Free Cosmetics ECI
18.04.2023
Meeting at the European Commission on the Save Cruelty-Free Cosmetics ECI
Animal testing

As members of the organising committee for the Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), we participated, on 17 March 2023, in the meeting of members of the European Commission in Brussels. The purpose? To officially hand over the 1.2 million valid signatures, proving the massive interest of European people in animals that are victims of animal testing, and to present requests from animal advocates.

Picture copyrights : European Union, 2023

This is the first step of the ECI process after the collection and verification of the authenticity of European citizens’ signatures at the European Commission.

Spokespeople from European animal defence organisations at the helm of this ECI, Cruelty Free Europe and the ECEAE (two coalitions that One Voice is a member of), HSI Europe, Peta UK, and Eurogroup for Animals have therefore presented the three main areas of requests from our side to five senior officials and their teams. Thierry Breton, European Commissioner in charge in particular of the domestic market, and Vera Jourová, Vice-President of the European Commission and in charge of respect for the values of the European Union and transparency, as well as the general directors in charge of Research and innovation, the domestic market and the industry, and the Environment, listened very attentively to our statement and asked questions. The audience of commissioners and directors seemed to be very attentive to our presentation.

The first focus: the protection of the ban on testing cosmetics on animals

The three pillars that were the subject of a specific development were cosmetics testing, our wish to protect the European directive obtained after a long battle, and banning testing these products on animals once and for all.

The second objective: asserting laboratory animals’ voices by revising the law on chemical products

The second pillar was a warning on testing chemical products. In fact, the European Green Deal 2.0 could have the major adverse effect of increasing testing and thus creating an immediate and drastic increase in the number of animals used. The revision of the regulation relating to classification, labelling, and packaging (CLP) modifies the directive in relation to dangerous substances (67/548/CEE (DSD)), the one relating to dangerous preparations, (1999/45/CE (DPD)), and the (CE) nº 1907/2006 (REACH) regulation. Yet, as defenders of nature and
animals, we support this Green Deal against chemical industries and their pollutant products, while insisting on a reduction in the number of animals tested upon. We therefore think that a third way is possible between these two positions (environmental or industrial associations).

In fact, we are calling on our partners who defend nature not to forget the animals that are already out of sight in laboratories. We have pleaded with the Commission for any new test required to be done so with non-animal methods, (a little like the American law that has just been voted in) in order to respect the spirit of the European Directive, in particular with regard to the 3Rs, calling to reduce their number in European laboratories. While, since the enactment of this directive, the figures have stagnated dismally, they will surely increase!

The third point raised: progressively leaving animal testing behind with real steps

We showed the members of the European Commission who were present that a winning societal perspective on three levels can be achieved: a winning solution for animals themselves (and this is the point of our ECI), where the reliability of science (and therefore health) can be envisaged, and where the industry would also win due to the development of new methods and therefore a new market. For this, deadlines and goals must be set to be achieved in steps because, in this respect, good intentions are no longer enough.

At present, the Commission is analysing our initiative. They have until 25 July 2023 to give their official response. Between now and then, a hearing has been set at the European Parliament for which the date has not yet been set.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

One Voice is rallying throughout France around World Day for Animals in Laboratories!

One Voice is rallying throughout France around World Day for Animals in Laboratories!
18.04.2023
One Voice is rallying throughout France around World Day for Animals in Laboratories!
Animal testing

For the occasion of World Day for Animals in Laboratories on 24 April 2023, One Voice is organising an event of national importance in more than twenty towns in France to warn about animal testing in our country and its ramifications within the European Union and on a global level. At the same time, action is also being led on social networks. The association is accompanying the rallies by local activist branches with the publication of a report on primates that are victims of testing, and an unpublished Ipsos survey showing that the large majority of French people are ready to leave this kind of thing behind.

Each year, 24 April is an opportunity to raise public awareness on the fate of animals in laboratories throughout the world.

This year, we have decided to focus our attention and that of the French public on primates, captured in the wild, bred, and then transported in aeroplane holds in often disgraceful conditions to France, where they are used in experiments, then re-sent to another corner of the European Union. This time, we are therefore publishing a well-sourced report on the subject, and we are putting forward a petition calling for an end to this situation for macaques.

At a time when the association and its European partners have just handed over more than a million signatures at the European Commission asking for the European Directive banning cosmetics tests on animals to be reinforced, we are publishing an Ipsos survey. This shows to what extent the vast majority of our fellow citizens are calling for an end to animal testing and voting for the development and use of non-animal methods, as well as greater transparency.

Action will be taking place in Amiens (80), Angers (49), Annemasse (74), Bayonne (64), Bordeaux (33), Caylus (82), Chorges (05), Falaise (61), Gannat (03) where a demonstration will take place, La Rochelle (17), Langres (52) (where two actions will take place), Lille (59), Lyon (69), Montpellier (34), Nantes (44), Nice (06), Paris (75), Strasbourg (67) (an event for which we are not the organiser but which we are joining), and Troyes (10). Some branches will offer dramatizations with laboratory technicians and animals. Our partners in Toronto are themselves organising action in Canada in around fifteen towns.

Please check the national event or each local event
before going there to ensure that no changes have been made.

03	Gannat (21 and 22/04)	15 avenue des Portes Occitanes	from 21/04, 10am to 22/04, 4:30pm
05	Chorges (23/04)	Rue Grande	10am to 3pm
05	Briançon (23/04)	Cité Vauban	9am to
06	Nice (22/04)	Place Masséna	2pm to 4pm
10	Troyes (29/04)	71, rue Emile Zola	3pm to 5:30pm
17	La Rochelle (22/04)	Place de l’Hôtel de ville	2pm to 5pm
33	Bordeaux (23/04)	Place de la Comédie	2pm to 5pm
34	Montpellier (29/04)	Place de la Comédie	10:30am to 1pm
44	Nantes (22/04)	Place Royale	3pm to 5pm
49	Angers (29/04)	Rue Lenepveu	2:30pm to 5:30pm
52	Langres (28/04)	Langres Market	9am to 5pm
52	Langres (24/04)	Langres Market	8am to 7pm
59	Lille (29/04)	Place Richebé	2pm to 4pm
61	Falaise (22/04)	Address to be confirmed	9am to 11am
64	Bayonne (22/04)	Carreau des Halles	3pm to 5pm
67	Strasbourg (22/04)	Organisation: 269 Life, Infoseite Black Forest for Animals e.V, Pro Anima	1:30pm to 4:30pm
69	Lyon (29/04)	Place Saint Jean	1:30pm to 4pm
74	Annemasse (02/09)	postponed
75	Paris (22/04)	Place de l’Hôtel de ville	2:30pm to 4pm
80	Amiens (22/04)	Place René Goblet	2pm to 4pm
82	Caylus (29/04)	10 Avenue du Père Evariste Huc	10am to 12pm

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Mani, the victim of a trap, almost lost a leg. One Voice is filing a complaint

Mani, the victim of a trap, almost lost a leg. One Voice is filing a complaint
17.04.2023
Mani, the victim of a trap, almost lost a leg. One Voice is filing a complaint
Domestic animals

At the beginning of February, Mani was found dying, a snare failing to sever his leg. Even though they are permitted by law, these traps nonetheless cause their targets to suffer. Each year, thousands of animals are trapped simply because they would cause damage to human activities. Mani was its collateral victim.

Mani’s story

On 12 February, upon returning home, a couple glimpsed a listless cat in their garage. Upon approaching him in amazement, they realised that the back right leg of the animal was trapped in a snare. Acting as a tourniquet, the foot was extremely swollen. Taken in by the Pattes Pas Trouille Association and taken to the vets, they guessed that this cat, given the name Mani, had spent at least three days with the trap around his leg! They also noted a wound due to severe constriction, oedema, venous stasis (when the blood does not circulate correctly in the vein), and even gangrenous lesions. At that point, the worst was to be feared and amputation would be considered.

A question remains hanging in the air… How could Mani have freed himself? Could he himself have broken the metal wire by struggling, completely terrified? These traps have been designed to immobilise foxes or even badgers, which is unlikely… Did the trapper prefer to cut their equipment, not wishing to bother helping a suffering animal?

A case that is unfortunately not isolated

Although Mani had the chance to find help and to be cared for, this is not the case for thousands of wild animals who die each year following entrapment. Killers or not, these traps are completely legal. They are used to kill species likely to cause damage, animals accused of committing alleged damage to human interests, while they are simply trying to survive in the wild, which has been degraded by humans.

Depending on the model, these traps snap the neck, clamp a limb, or imprison the victim in a box. While animals do not die at the time, they will be slaughtered by the trapper after long hours of waiting and of terror. As well as making animals unfairly considered as ‘pests’ suffer, these torture instruments are not selective and there are many collateral victims. Last month, a wolf (belonging to a protected species) was found dead, crushed in a fox snare. A few weeks ago, Cooper, a border collie, was caught in a leghold trap which are in fact banned.

Against all odds, after two months of recuperation, Mani is better. Weeks of meticulous care, antibiotics, pain relief, ointments, cortisone, baths, dressings, but also and above all, weeks of suffering: necrotic flesh, decomposition, and loss of muscle and tendons before them regenerating. Today, this survivor is okay and his leg was saved. Many are not so lucky.

This beautiful black feline has since joined a loving family and will no longer need to fight to survive in the outdoors. Unlike him, millions of stray cats continue to suffer every day in our streets and countryside.

For Mani and so that the ordeal that he has been through are not forgotten, we have filed a complaint and we will also represent Pattes Pas Trouille. To put a stop to these barbaric practices and to demand an urgent national plan for them alongside us, sign our petition.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

In Saint-Herblain, puppy shows trample over the legal reflection period prior to adoption

In Saint-Herblain, puppy shows trample over the legal reflection period prior to adoption
12.04.2023
Loire-Atlantique
In Saint-Herblain, puppy shows trample over the legal reflection period prior to adoption
Domestic animals

On 26 February, our Loire-Atlantique branch raised public awareness among those who came to the Saint-Herblain puppy show. We again observed the treatment that this type of event reserves for animals, who are seen simply as goods here.A reality which is unchanged by the certificate of commitment and knowledge implemented in October 2022 following the law against animal mistreatment.

Animals reduced to objects

The footage filmed by our activists at the Saint-Herblain puppy show does not lie. Penned in in threes or fours, or more, in minuscule enclosures, the puppies are lying down, unmoving or very restless, filling the space with their barking. They are subjected to stress, noise, and the passage of numerous visitors all day. Some are only just two months old, but all of them are here to be sold to the first ‘impulse buyer’, as if they are just adorable cuddly toys.

Behind the presence of all these young animals, we perceive the exploitation of female cats and dogs forced to constantly ‘produce’ more young to feed a lucrative trade. It is at the point, as a breeder reports, where some give birth again when they have not even finished feeding their last litter.

Nothing other than another unenforceable measure to protect cats and dogs…

Intended to fight against impulse buying, the commitment and knowledge certificate included in the law against animal mistreatment should be applied from 1 October 2022. But once again, we have shown that the reflection period of seven days imposed between it being signed and the adoption is not being followed. Met as they were about to return home with a puppy in their arms, a couple confirmed to one of our activists that they had in fact signed a document… provided on-site and filled in with an earlier date. So, the decision to take on an animal for a number of years had been considered for… five minutes.

A behaviourist, having gone to meet the breeders present in Saint-Herblain and met by our activists, was offended by this situation:

“They have no way of verifying the seven-day period. People can download a certificate on the Internet, sign it, date it in the past, and then it’s fine, ok, I am adopting. It was a question I had when I came to this show: how is it going with this law that was passed last year? And then obviously, a good year, a bad year, the rules are bent a little, there are no regulations.”

…and purely symbolic sanctions

But how can it be any other way when there is no way of externally controlling set out in the law? Can breeders be expected to guarantee that the reflection period is applied when it is in their interest to sell as many individuals as possible? When we know that in the event of a breach they only risk a fine of 450 euros for a puppy that is sold for between 1500 and 2000 euros, we can understand that the notorious certificate is nothing but another gimmick.

We have been condemning pet shops forever and all events that feed the spiral of abandonment and straying. As they already did in Antibes last February, our activists are rallying to raise awareness among visitors, inviting them to turn to a shelter where many animals are waiting to find a family.

To put an end to this situation, sign our petition for better legal protection for our canine and feline companions. And together let’s also demand that an urgent plan against feline straying is finally implemented.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Arles: a priest protests against bullfighting surrounded by ‘dead bulls’

Arles: a priest protests against bullfighting surrounded by ‘dead bulls’
11.04.2023
Arles: a priest protests against bullfighting surrounded by ‘dead bulls’
Exploitation for shows

Father Robert Culat, a priest from Avignon, has condemned bullfighting a short distance from the Arles arena with PETA and One Voice.

“Torturing animals is a sin”: this was the message brandished on Monday 10 April 2023 in Arles by Father Robert Culat, catholic priest of the Avignon Diocese, on the Easter holiday. The protest was held not far from the Arles Arena prior to the Rejón bullfight, alongside PETA and One Voice activists wearing bull horns and lying on the ground to pay homage to the victims of bullfighting and remind people that this cruel activity totally disagrees with the values of compassion that the two associations, the catholic church, and our society in general support.

Photo credit: Peta

“Every bull, like any animal, is a sentient being, capable of experiencing suffering. It is a creature of God worthy of respect, and as Pope Francis taught, ‘every act of cruelty towards any creature is contrary to human dignity’”, stated Father Robert Culat. “As part of the Easter celebrations, bullfights are held in Arles. But Easter is a celebration of the life of the risen Christ, of he who replaces the sacrifice of animals with the sacrament of mass – how is it possible to associate the victory of life in the resurrection with a show that causes death?”.

In one of his prayers, Pope Francis pointed out human beings’ responsibility: “Dear Lord, show us our place in this world as instruments of your affection for all beings on this earth, as none are forgotten by you”. However, during a bullfight, many terrified bulls are tortured one after the other. They are tormented and chased with horses, being poked with cattle prods and banderillas in their backs and necks. Whilst they are weakened by their bleeding, the matador
(killer) tries to finish them off, but it is not rare for the bulls to die by drowning in their own blood when he misses his target and the sword pierces the lungs instead of the heart. Often, while it is the spinal cord that is affected, the animals, dragged out of the arena by chains, are paralysed but still conscious.

PETA, whose motto specifically states that “animals do not belong to us and [that] we do not have to use them for our entertainment” and who are opposed to speciesism, the ideology that supposes that humans are superior to other animals, is calling for the outdoor slaughtering that is bullfighting to be condemned to the pages of history.
One Voice has led numerous investigations in the field of bullfighting and particularly opposes children being trained to kill young bulls and attending bullfights. The Association, who calls for animal and planetary ethics, also supports a ban on cultural exception being applied to what is no more or less than the staging of acts of cruelty on sentient beings.

PETA and One Voice encourage those who are against this barbaric ‘tradition’ to write to the mayors of bullfighting towns, including Arles, to express to them the strong opposition that there is today for bullfighting. In fact, 75% of the population is in favour of banning bullfights in France.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Animal testing: European Union figures for 2020 condemn France

Animal testing: European Union figures for 2020 condemn France
11.04.2023
Animal testing: European Union figures for 2020 condemn France
Animal testing

On 31 March 2023, the European Commission published a report revealing the statistics for animal testing in member states for the 2020 year. They were very high figures to which France largely contributed, still being among the countries carrying out the most tests on animals.

In 2020, almost 8 million animals were experimented on for research and tests, and more than 680,000 for the creation and upkeep of certain genetically modified lines. These figures, already unacceptable, do not even include all of the individuals who pass through laboratories’ hands. No trace remains of the animals used solely for their tissue or of any invertebrates other than cephalopods.

A bloody podium for France…

Once again, France plays a leading role in this massacre. Already condemned for having widely participated in illegal experiments in 2019, the following year France found itself on the podium of the three biggest users in the European Union, with more than 1,600,000 procedures, alongside Germany and Norway.

But that is not all. Not content with using a record number of individuals each year, France is also among those who inflict the most suffering upon them. While the proportion of procedures deemed ‘severe’ has stagnated between 8 and 10% in the European Union (EU) since 2015, it remains between 14 and 19% in France. The proportion of tests deemed ‘moderate’ has meanwhile increased in our country, to the detriment of so-called ‘mild’ tests. It is almost as though we like to move backwards in this country…

…and the persecution of crab-eating macaques

So let’s look at the case of crab-eating macaques. The number of individuals used for the first time in the EU has decreased since 2018, reaching 4,220 animals experimented on in 2020. France could have followed suit. That did not happen. In the same amount of time, the number of these animals subjected to tests in our country increased by 5%. As if that was not enough, there were more and more uses of individuals originating from Asia, where they are in danger of extinction, and we still use double the amount of crab-eating macaques whose parents had been captured in the wild than other member states.

Faced with these still shocking figures, we are repeating our request for a genuine exit programme for animal testing throughout Europe, alongside genuine financing to develop research methods without animals.

Consult our site dedicated to the analysis of ministerial data to find out more about animal testing and its victims in France.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Puppy show in Metz: open letter to the SAS Passion Chiots Organisation

Puppy show in Metz: open letter to the SAS Passion Chiots Organisation
07.04.2023
Puppy show in Metz: open letter to the SAS Passion Chiots Organisation
Domestic animals

A puppy show was organised last weekend (1 and 2 April) in Metz, even though animal welfare associations are already overrun with abandonments. We regret that such marketing practices and the objectification of animals is still happening.

After a puppy show being held at Arènes de Metz on the weekend of 1 and 2 April, One Voice can only be concerned about the type of animals being shown here.

While the law of 30 November 2021 on animal mistreatment provides for a ban on the sale of cats and dogs in pet shops from 1 January 2024, — thus implicitly admitting that they are not simply consumer goods — events such as puppy shows do not seem to be covered.

Puppies ages just a few weeks can therefore be exposed to incessant noise every weekend, under artificial lighting, with the comings and goings of the masses and buyers ‘groping’ them all over.

While thousands of animals are abandoned each year, how can we guarantee that these puppies, shown like common objects, do not end up the same in a few months’ time?

Shelters are saturated, overflowing with cats and dogs and often having to refuse new cases. To deal with this lack of space, dozens and dozens of animals are euthanised daily in pounds. And yet our country continues to commercialise living beings.

These puppy shows open the door to impulse buys and thoughtless purchases. The Arènes ensures to remind us on their website that a commitment and knowledge certificate is obligatory for any purchase of a puppy at the show, yet without specifying that a reflection period of seven days is obligatory between signing the certificate and acquiring the animal.

A few weeks ago, we were already warning the public about breeders’ processes, ready to get around the law to sell their ‘goods’, as was the case at the puppy show in Antibes, but also as we have reported about in various pet shops. How can we guarantee that this was not the case in Metz, or that this will not happen again in future?

This type of show directly participates in objectifying animals and encourages irresponsible behaviour by sellers and buyers. Would it not have been more thoughtful and appropriate to organise an event with shelters and associations in the department, during which those wanting to adopt are guided and listened to by volunteers who, not being motivated by the money to be made by a transaction, would select an adoption appropriate for each animal?

Specialised in holding these kinds of events, the SAS Passion Chiots Organisation is already getting ready for its next event in Montbéliard next weekend (8 and 9 April).

We are therefore inviting people from Montbéliard wishing to get a companion to favour shelters full of dogs who are also overflowing with affection, some who have been waiting for a family for many months. By adopting a dog from a shelter, you will be saving two: the one joining your household will open a place to welcome another unfortunate dog, saving them from being abandoned in the wild or from being euthanised.

Sign our petitions demanding respect for the law against animal mistreatment.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice