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After suspension comes cancellation: when the legal system says stop persecuting the 1700 foxes in Oise

After suspension comes cancellation: when the legal system says stop persecuting the 1700 foxes in Oise

After suspension comes cancellation: when the legal system says stop persecuting the 1700 foxes in Oise
27.03.2023
Oise
After suspension comes cancellation: when the legal system says stop persecuting the 1700 foxes in Oise
Wildlife

On 23 March, following our plea, the Amiens Administrative Tribunal cancelled the Oise Prefectural decree authorising the slaughter of 1700 foxes in the department. The law, which we had urgently suspended, was ruled as being illegal.

This is a second victory for the foxes that we are defending. Suspended after our first plea, the decree set by the Oise Prefect on 13 September 2021 has just been cancelled by the legal system.

Since its publication, we have reported on the untruthful arguments of this illegal law, as have AVES France and ASPAS, and the legal system has proven us all right. The decision from the Amiens Administrative Tribunal is enlightening: not only has the Prefecture failed to follow the conditions set out by the Environmental Code to justify its decree, but they were also unable to provide evidence of the multiple evils that they have accused foxes of.

We would very much like prefectures to stop being a place for hunters to register their desires and activities. We are delighted with this decision and we will continue to attack decrees targeting foxes. Sign our petition!

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Neutering cats is becoming obligatory in Spain. When will this happen in France?

Neutering cats is becoming obligatory in Spain. When will this happen in France?

Neutering cats is becoming obligatory in Spain. When will this happen in France?
24.03.2023
Spain
Neutering cats is becoming obligatory in Spain. When will this happen in France?
Domestic animals

On 16 March 2023, the Spanish Parliament passed a new law reinforcing the welfare and protection of animals. Important advances will come into effect in September, in particular including the neutering of cats, whether stray or living with a family. In France, such an obligation could have seen the light of day when the 30 November 2021 law came in, but it was eventually dismissed due to political pressure.

Alongside this law, which also banned the sale of cats, dogs, and ferrets in pet shops, the exploitation of wild animals in circuses, and even the use of lethal methods to combat pigeons and rats, a reform of the Penal Code increased the penalties incurred in cases of mistreatment.

A necessity to put an end to the ordeal that felines endure

The Spanish law contains a provision making it obligatory to have cats surgically neutered before six months of age, with the exception of ‘breeders’ listed on the register of companion animal breeders. Stray cats are also included: they will be captured to be neutered and then released.

Any breach of this obligation will constitute a violation punishable by a fine of between €500 and €10,000.

Millions of cats suffer

There are 11 million stray cats and 15.1 million living with a family in France, but we still refuse to impose neutering, even while they are reproducing at an astounding rate. From the age of six months, females can have two litters per year, with an average of 2.8 kittens each time, of which half are female who themselves are capable of reproducing at the same rate… This means that after only seven years and with a kitten mortality rate of 15%, the descendants of a single mother and her daughters is theoretically more than 10,000 individuals.

Neutering is done for protection in order to decrease abandonments in rescue centres and euthanasias in pounds, all while avoiding contributing to feline overpopulation and its share of suffering: diseases, hunger, injuries, human mistreatment…

A missed opportunity in France

The opportunity to impose neutering in France nevertheless presented itself at the time of the debates around the 30 November 2021 law “aiming to fight against mistreatment of animals and strengthen the link between animals and humans”. While the initial project unfortunately did not concern individuals, it at least planned to generalise the neutering of stray cats by requiring mayors to capture and then microchip them before releasing them. This proposition was eventually rejected. Towns therefore only have the possibility and not an obligation to operate on stray cats, and in fact, associations often carry this responsibility alone with limited means.

However, we must not forget that as long as individuals leave their cats to breed before giving the kittens away to the first person that wants them, they will continue to feed overpopulation, straying, and feline suffering.

Help us to move forward with this fight: share our report with your local council and sign our petition demanding an urgent national plan to put an end to feline straying and the suffering that it causes.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Victory for sharks in La Réunion: the prefecture is putting a stop to them being fished in a protected zone

Victory for sharks in La Réunion: the prefecture is putting a stop to them being fished in a protected zone

Victory for sharks in La Réunion: the prefecture is putting a stop to them being fished in a protected zone
24.03.2023
La Réunion
Victory for sharks in La Réunion: the prefecture is putting a stop to them being fished in a protected zone
Wildlife

Following yet another suspension being given by the courts, referred by One Voice and its partners, the La Réunion Prefecture has repealed its decree authorising shark fishing in one of the most protected zones of the island’s marine reserve on 14 March 2023. This is good news for sharks and for the already vulnerable ecosystem in which they are developing.

Killings even in a protected area

This is not the first time that we have gone up against the La Réunion Prefecture for this case. Since 2016, the justice system has proven us right by cancelling a similar decree. In February 2019, the same again: the Prefecture published a new law, in turn cancelled four years later. Even more recently, we attacked the decree of July 2021. And already, the Prefecture has chosen to repeal it before the date of our appeal hearing.

The State knows it is wrong. Its policy is untenable. Since 2013, it has killed hundreds of tiger bulldog sharks in the Reunion Island waters in the name of the so-called fight against attacks on humans, without ever succeeding in significantly reducing the number of fatal accidents. Worse: we have been pointing fingers for years for its illegal fishing practices, for the Centre Sécurité Requin de la Réunion (CSR) [Reunion Island Shark Safety Centre] funded by it and for threatening sharks as well as the already fragile coral ecosystems.

Faced with repeated attacks by the State, and this even in the most protected areas, we will not leave sharks to be massacred.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

One Voice goes again in the fight against badger digging in Nièvre

One Voice goes again in the fight against badger digging in Nièvre

One Voice goes again in the fight against badger digging in Nièvre
23.03.2023
Nièvre
One Voice goes again in the fight against badger digging in Nièvre
Wildlife

Every year, prefects authorise badger digging by special dispensation from 15 May, even while the badger cubs are still in the setts. After having had much success in 2022, One Voice is pursuing its fight against this hunting method of unspeakable violence. The first step of this tour around France is on 23 March at 2:30pm at the Dijon Administrative Tribunal.

Underground hunting with hounds, or pure cruelty

A Sunday in the month of May. A female badger and her cubs sleep at the bottom of their sett. They are woken by barks down the tunnels. The mother escapes, trying to somehow save her cubs. But she very quickly finds herself cornered. Then she is blinded: knowing she is stuck, a hunter digs a hole above her. With a pair of metal pliers, he grabs her by the throat and drags her from her sett. She will never see her babies again, who will die from panic, thirst, or hunger in the days to follow. That is it for her: the hunter pulls out a knife and slits her throat or shoots her at point-blank range.

No matter what hunters say, this is the cruel reality of underground hunting with hounds, which is responsible for more than 12,000 badger victims every year. Authorised from September to 15 January, this practice may be subject to an ‘additional period’ from 15 May to the month of September. Yet another way for prefects to give gifts to hunters in defiance of the law.

A massacre announced for badger cubs, making a mockery of the law

In terms of form, the decrees opening an additional period of underground badger hunting with hounds must be subject to a public consultation and be accompanied by a request note, in particular describing the impact of digging on the population of these animals in the department concerned. Despite this obligation, the latest one, provided by the Nièvre Prefect, only has a few lines and simply just does not mention this type of hunting.

In essence, while killing the young is strictly forbidden by law, specialists are in agreement: in the spring and summer, non-weaned, reproductively immature animals that are still dependent on their mothers are present in the setts. Yet, digging, by definition, does not allow them to be spared: if by some miracle they are not killed during the operation, they end up dying by not being able to survive alone.

These shameless snubs of the law have gone on for long enough. While we had much success in 2022, a definitive victory for badgers seems to be possible more than ever in the near future. We will be at the Dijon Administrative Tribunal on 23 March 2023 at 2:30pm to get their voices heard. We need your support. For them, sign our petition!

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Wild boar slaughtered in Cannes: wildlife and animals being managed with revolver shots

Wild boar slaughtered in Cannes: wildlife and animals being managed with revolver shots

Wild boar slaughtered in Cannes: wildlife and animals being managed with revolver shots
15.03.2023
Alpes-Maritimes
Wild boar slaughtered in Cannes: wildlife and animals being managed with revolver shots
Wildlife

On 14 March 2023, a video of a wild boar ‘euthanised’ in the town of Cannes was published on social networks. This wild boar was not euthanised but shot at point-blank range under the astounded gaze of passers-by. Taking refuge on a deserted beach, the frightened animal was not posing any imminent danger.

Wild boars, who almost disappeared in France in the 1960s, have been massively reintroduced, just like thousands of animals bred with the sole aim of serving as cannon fodder for hunters. Nowadays, they are accused of all evil and slaughtered even when alternative solutions exist. This wild boar could have been captured and released in the wild. One Voice stood ready to help the town to implement such an alternative.

This decision is revealing of the incompetence of the methods used by authorities. Rather than leaving ecosystems to self-regulate, killing animals is always favoured. Therefore, even though they are natural predators of wild boar, hundreds of wolves are killed every year in France.

A few days after Jumbo the hippopotamus, a prisoner of the Muller Circus, passed through Cannes, One Voice expected more from the authorities. At a time when numerous countries are developing initiatives to learn how to cohabit with wild animals again, France once again demonstrates its trouble in getting away from a mentality based on the systematic killing of animals.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Gard: a female wolf found strangled to death in a trap

Gard: a female wolf found strangled to death in a trap

Gard: a female wolf found strangled to death in a trap
14.03.2023
Gard
Gard: a female wolf found strangled to death in a trap
Wildlife

In Barjec in Gard, the body of a female wolf was found at the beginning of March. She had died in the throes of a snare, a barbaric trap that is actually illegal. This sordid event reminds us once again that these traps from ancient times must be banned. One Voice intends to file a complaint for the destruction of a protected species and the violation of regulations relating to the practice of trapping.

Photo : DR

Snares: non-selective traps

Despite snares still being permitted by law, particularly for trapping foxes, they nonetheless remain to be cruel instruments that make the trapped animals suffer terribly.

One of the trappers’ favourite arguments is the so-called selectivity of these traps that are only supposed to capture the species for which they were put there for. But in actual fact, as soon as they are placed in nature, it is impossible to prevent other animals from coming into contact with them. This is how Cooky’s existence ended almost five years ago. We have filed a complaint for him and his family.

Furthermore, even if these traps aim to capture individuals of a targeted species, we must not forget that the ultimate goal that they are aiming towards is the slaughter of these animals considered to be troublesome, or even ‘pests’, by farmers and hunters.

Animals who do not die by being strangled can be left dying for hours in leghold traps, as was the case for Cooper, taken by a device that is actually banned. They can also be prisoners of a metal loop tightening around their leg or stomach, which then acts as a tourniquet that can cut into the flesh. As well as the physical pain, they are plagued by fear and intense stress, and also remain exposed to climatic conditions and attacks by other animals, before finally being killed by the trapper.

As Dr Gilbert Proulx (French-Canadian biologist known internationally for his work on the trapping of mammals and his expertise in wildlife management) recalls in a 2022* study:

«Certain methods of capturing and killing have such extreme effects on animal well-being that, whatever the potential advantages may be, the use of them is never justifiable. The use of snares falls under this category.»

The same suffering for dogs and wolves

Wolves, who in fact belong to a protected species and are already slaughtered with the involvement of the State as well as being poached, must also be wary of traps. However, trapping a protected species is strictly forbidden by law and can even be linked to poaching.

The French Office for Biodiversity has recovered the body of the animal for an autopsy and must confirm whether or not it is a wolf. The photo distributed on 10 March 2023, and the witness statement from a former wolf-hunting officer who had access to it, leave little room for doubt.

But let’s be clear: if the victim of this torture device turned out not to be a wolf but a dog, or any other animal, its agony and suffering would have been the same. One Voice is demanding justice for her too.

Join us in our fight: sign our petition to say no to persecuting wolves. For the animal taken by this trap, One Voice is filing a complaint for the destruction of a protected species as appropriate and the breach of regulations surrounding the practice of trapping at the public prosecutor’s office in Alès.

*Mammal Trapping ̶ Wildlife Management, Animal Welfare & International Standards 121 G. Proulx, editor. Alpha Wildlife Publications, 2022.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Declaration from the #RestoreNature signatories

Declaration from the #RestoreNature signatories

Declaration from the #RestoreNature signatories
14.03.2023
Europe
Declaration from the #RestoreNature signatories
Natural habitat

We, the undersigned 207 civil society organisations, call upon all EU Member States, Members of the European Parliament and the European Commission to urgently adopt a strong Nature Restoration Law that is fit for purpose to tackle the twin biodiversity and climate crises.

We are heading towards a mass biodiversity extinction and climate breakdown, threatening the very basis of life as we know it. The science is very clear on this. Efforts so far have been largely inadequate to address these crises and to restore our relationship with nature. Unsurprisingly, increasingly frequent droughts, floods and forest fires are making the effects of the crises ever-more obvious all across Europe.

The EU Nature Restoration Regulation is the unique opportunity of this decade to change the pathway from continuous deterioration to regeneration, where we steer towards a safe and resilient future of living in harmony with nature. Restoring nature means restoring our greatest ally in tackling the climate crisis and its severe impact, restoring our own health and wellbeing, and restoring our livelihoods and economies. Nature restoration is one of the best investments our society can make. Yet, time is running out.

We therefore call upon national governments, Members of the European Parliament and the European Commission to:

  • Ensure that by 2030, nature restoration is happening on EU land and seas on a large scale. We therefore support the proposal of the rapporteur of the European Parliament to ensure that by 2030, at least 30% of the EU’s land and at least 30% of the EU’s sea area are covered by effective area-based restoration measures, with fair and proportionate contributions by all Member States.
  • Ensure strong nature restoration targets for all ecosystems covered by the legal proposal (terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine natural habitats, urban ecosystems, rivers, pollinator habitats, agricultural ecosystems, peatlands and forest ecosystems). The targets need to match the extent and urgency of the biodiversity and climate crises.
  • Ensure that all targets are fully met by 2040 at the latest. Delaying action until 2050 undermines the EU’s climate neutrality obligations and risks crossing irreversible tipping points.
  • Adopt fully implementable targets, with clear safeguards to ensure that the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) does not block the implementation of marine restoration.
  • Ensure the long-term non-deterioration of restored ecosystems. Allowing habitats to degrade right after restoring them not only fails to address the crises in the long-term, but is also inherently inefficient and a waste of public funding.
  • Support a strong accountability framework to ensure all Member States contribute fairly to the law and can be held accountable.
  • Call for dedicated nature restoration funding as part of the next EU budget.
  • Withstand and counter vested interests who are continuously trying to undermine the Nature Restoration Law.

Delaying action, watering down the ambition or limiting the scope of the law will only make it more difficult, more costly and more time-consuming to deal with the consequences. It would put our life and that of all other beings at stake. So let’s make it work now.

  • AirClim
  • AKTI PROJECT & RESEARCH CENTRE Alba Natura Civil Foundation
  • Alpe Adria Green International
  • Amigos de la Tierra
  • Aplinkosaugos koalicija (Environmental Coalition of Lithuania)
  • ARCHE NOAH
  • ASOCIACIÓN REFORESTA
  • Association Klaipedian Initiative for Democracy and the Environment (KIDE))
  • Austrian Youth Biodiversity Network – GYBN Austria
  • Balkan River Defence
  • BIOM Association
  • BirdLife – SEO
  • BirdLife Austria
  • BirdLife Bulgaria – Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds
  • BirdLife Cyprus
  • BirdLife DOF
  • Birdlife Estonia
  • Birdlife Europe and Central Asia
  • BirdLife Finland
  • Birdlife Greece – Hellenic Ornithological Society BirdLife Hungary – MME
  • BirdLife Italy – Lipu
  • BirdLife Malta
  • BirdLife Slovenia DOPPS
  • BirdLife Sweden
  • Birdwatch Ireland
  • BLOOM
  • Bodensee-Stiftung – Internationale Stiftung für Natur und Kultur
  • BOS+
  • Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust CEE Bankwatch Network
  • CEEweb for Biodiversity
  • Center for Environmental Policy (AAPC) Center for Protection and Research of Birds
  • Center for Research and Information for the Environment Eko-svest
  • Centrum Ochrony Mokradeł / Wetlands Conservation Centre
  • CIDAMB – Associação Nacional para a Cidadania Ambiental
  • CIPRA Slovenia
  • Client Earth
  • Climate Action Network Europe
  • Climate Catalyst
  • CMCC Foundation | Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change
  • Coalition Clean Baltic
  • Comitato AVB
  • Comité Schone Lucht
  • Cork Nature Network
  • Czech Society for Ornithology
  • Danish Society for Nature Conservation Darnaus vystymosi centras
  • Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V. (German Environmental Action)
  • Deutscher Naturschutzring (DNR)
  • Dinaricum Society
  • Društvo Ekologi brez meja
  • Društvo Proteus, gibanje za naravo in okolje, Bela krajina
  • Društvo za preučevanje rib Slovenije (DPRS)
  • Eco-TIRAS International Association of River Keepers
  • ECOLISE – European network for community-led initiatives on climate change and sustainability
  • Εcological Movement Cyprus
  • Ecologistas en Acción
  • ECOS – Environmental Coalition on Standards
  • Eko krog – društvo za naravovarstvo in okoljevarstvo
  • Ekoskog
  • El Fanal – Col·lectiu Cultural i Ecologista del Moianès
  • Environmental Center for Administration and Technology
  • Environmental Pillar
  • Estonian Fund for Nature ELF
  • EuroNatur
  • EUROPARC Federation
  • European Anglers Alliance (EAA)
  • European Cave Protection Commission by the Fédération Spéléologique Européenne
  • European Environmental Bureau
  • European Living Lakes Association
  • European Young Rewilders
  • Fältbiologerna
  • Fédération des réserves naturelles catalanes/ RNN Jujols
  • Federation of Environmental Organisations in Cyprus (FEOC NGOs)
  • FIRE
  • Forests of the World (Verdens Skove)
  • Foundation for Peatland Restoration and Conservation
  • France Nature Environnement (FNE)
  • Friends of Akamas
  • Friends of Fertő lake Association
  • Friends of the Earth Cyprus
  • Friends of the Earth Czech Republic – Hnutí DUHA Friends of the Earth Germany – BUND e.V.
  • Friends of The Earth Hungary – MTVSZ – National Society of Conservationists
  • Fundación Española de Renaturalización (Rewilding Spain)
  • Fundación Global Nature
  • Fundacion Nueva Cultura del Agua
  • Fundatia ADEPT Transilvania
  • Gamtos apsaugos asociacija « Baltijos vilkas » Generation Climate Europe (GCE)
  • Generation Earth (Youthnetwork of WWF AT)
  • GEOTA-Grupo de Estudos de Ordenamento do Território e Ambiente
  • GLOBAL 2000
  • Global Nature Fund
  • Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN) Europe
  • Great Lakes and Wetland Federation (Nagy Tavak és Vizes Élőhelyek Szövetsége)
  • Greenpeace
  • Greenpeace Czech Republic
  • GRÜNE LIGA e.V.
  • Gyvo Žalio
  • Herpetološko društvo – Societas herpetologica slovenica
  • Humanitas – Centre for Global Learning and Cooperation
  • IFAW
  • Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
  • Institute for ichthyological and ecological research, REVIVO
  • International Mire Conservation Group
  • IPoP – Institute for Spatial Policies
  • Irish Wildlife Trust
  • Jamarski klub Kamnik
  • Koalicja Żywa Ziemia [Living Earth Coalition] LandschappenNL
  • Lašišos dienoraštis
  • Latvian Fund for Nature
  • Latvian Ornithological Society
  • Leefmilieu
  • Legambiente
  • Lietuvos gamtos draugija (Lithuanian Nature Society)
  • Lietuvos geologų sąjunga
  • Lietuvos Žaliasis Aljansas
  • Liga para a Protecção da Natureza
  • Lithuanian Arboricultural Center
  • Lithuanian entomological society
  • Lithuanian Fund for Nature
  • Living Rivers Foundation
  • Luontoliitto (The Finnish Nature League)
  • Lutra, Institute for Conservation of Natural Heritage
  • Mammal Conservation Europe
  • MEDASSET
  • MedINA
  • MedWet
  • Mes Darom (Let’s Do It Lithuania)
  • Michael Succow Foundation
  • Milvus Group
  • MIO-ECSDE
  • Morigenos
  • NABU
  • Natagora
  • natur&ëmwelt
  • Naturalists Club Poland (Klub Przyrodników) Naturefriends International
  • Naturskyddsföreningen (Swedish Society for Nature Conservation)
  • Natuur & Milieu
  • Natuur en Milieufederaties
  • Natuurmonumenten
  • Natuurpunt
  • Natuurpunt vzw
  • Noé
  • NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) Oceana Europe
  • OEKOBUERO
  • Okoljsko društvo Proteus
  • One Voice
  • Ornithologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft Bodensee Päästame Eesti Metsad (Save Estonia’s Forests) Paliurus
  • Partnership for Policy Integrity
  • Planet Positive
  • Polish Society for Bird Protection
  • Public Association Republican Center « Gutta-Club » »
  • Rewilding Apennines ETS
  • Rewilding Europe
  • Rewilding France
  • Rewilding Oder Delta
  • Rewilding Portugal
  • Rewilding Rhodopes Foundation
  • Rewilding Sweden
  • Rewilding Velebit Foundation
  • RUPI
  • SABUKO – Society for Nature Conservation Salviamo l’Orso
  • Seas At Risk
  • Sengirės fondas | The Ancient Woods Foundation SEPANSO Aquitaine
  • SFEPM – Societe Française pour l’Etude et la Protection des Mammifères [French Society for the Study and Protection of Mammals]
  • Slovene Dragonfly Society
  • Slovensko društvo za zaščito voda
  • ŠO društvo Ohranimo naravo čisto
  • Societatea Ornitologică Română
  • Society for Ecological Restoration Europe Society for the Protection of Prespa
  • Society for Sustainable Living
  • SPEA (Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds) SPECO – Sociedade Portuguesa de Ecologia Stop Avalon Tata Civil Mozgalom
  • Swedish Anglers Association (Sportfiskarna)
  • Tagis – Centro de Conservação das Borboletas de Portugal
  • TETT -Tegyünk Együtt Tudatosan Településünkért Egyesület
  • The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation The Habitat Foundation
  • The North Sea Foundation
  • The Polish Society for Protection of Birds, OTOP/BirdLife Poland
  • Umanotera, The Slovenian Foundation for Sustainable Development
  • Verband der deutschen Höhlen- und Karstforscher e.V. / German Speleological Federation
  • Vogelbescherming Nederland
  • Waddenvereniging
  • WeMove Europe
  • Western Center of the Ukrainian department of the International Center of Scientific Culture – The World Laboratory
  • Wetlands International Europe
  • Wild Europe Foundation
  • WWF European Policy Office, on behalf of the EU WWF Network (with WWF in Czechia and WWF-Belgium)
  • Youth and Environment Europe
  • Zeleni Osijek
  • ZERO – Associação Sistema Terrestre Sustentável

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Kiska, an orca born free and dying without ever having seen the sea again

Kiska, an orca born free and dying without ever having seen the sea again

Kiska, an orca born free and dying without ever having seen the sea again
11.03.2023
Canada
Kiska, an orca born free and dying without ever having seen the sea again
Exploitation for shows

Kiska, said to be ‘the most lonely orca in the world’ died on Thursday 9 March 2023 in the same pool that served as her solitary confinement cell for twelve years. The majestic orca, kept in captivity for forty interminable years, was captured in Icelandic waters. She was very young then.

Finally an end point after 40 years of hell

It was in 1979 that her interminable exploitation began. Kiska was ripped away from her family along with Keiko. They spent a few years in a Marineland pool together before being separated. She saw the five babies that she had carried and brought into the world die in the pools of the dolphinarium…

A tiny pool and solitude to the point of insanity

When we went to see her a year and half ago, she seemed mostly bored to death. Worse, she was doing what the whole world could only interpret as cries for help: thrashing the surface of the water with her tail, giving the impression she was banging on the sides of the glass pool… was this a demonstration of frustration, of pain? Marine biology specialist Ingrid Visser published a damning report.

With each trick she did to kill time, Kiska stumbled against the walls, obviously never being able to swim at full speed or in a straight line, or to dive down deep, so desperately alone. Living with their own kind is essential for orcas. And despite it being a strict legal minimum requirement in Canada for cetaceans being kept in dolphinariums to live with a companion of the same species, they do not care about the law.

Dolphinariums: hell on earth

Despite incessant campaigns by animal activists, in Ontario, or more widely in America and also in Europe, which we are of course part of, neither the old fashioned park nor the authorities ever had the mercy to grant her a semblance of life and freedom. Even in her old age.

There are still 34 belugas and five dolphins in the filthy pools of this dilapidated park. We must find an urgent solution for them.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

The reality for laboratory animals in France: behind a torrent of figures

The reality for laboratory animals in France: behind a torrent of figures

The reality for laboratory animals in France: behind a torrent of figures
10.03.2023
France
The reality for laboratory animals in France: behind a torrent of figures
Animal testing

Tens of thousands of mice, fish, almost 200 dogs, and more than 130 primates have been subjected to ‘severe’ experiments, and tens of thousands of rabbits have endured procedures noted as ‘moderate’ in France in 2021… this is what we discovered by reading the Ministry of Research’s files. These figures, higher in comparison with the previous year, are available to consult on One Voice’s dedicated site.

General suffering…

The proportion of procedures named as ‘severe’ is particularly high in our country. While it is one in ten in the European Union, it is one in seven in France. We are sometimes told that this is due to France judging the severity of experiments with less rigidity than other countries…

But on what basis is this argument? On nothing. And all European Union member states have the same examples in the Directive appendix on the different levels of severity… Obviously, the truth is hard to take in the ministry corridors.

Genetically modified bloodlines and increased suffering

Between 2015 and 2020, we counted a hundred procedures classified at the highest level of severity for the creation and maintenance of genetically modified animal (GMA) bloodlines.

In 2021, there were more than 15,500 mice who appeared in the statement which is almost the maximum total number for a sole establishment. The explanation? This is a place that provides strains of GMAs to others… let’s admit it. But this does not explain why the number of individuals born with genetic modifications causing them the worst pain has risen so much. On this point, the silence of the Ministry is deafening.

And this increase is not about to stop because for 2022 and 2023 we already know that at least two projects have been approved authorising the use of several thousands, or even tens of thousands of mice in the years to come to create new animal bloodlines who will suffer a true ordeal…

More than 150,000 rabbits

Among all those who have the misfortune of passing between these walls, laboratories still have a more marked ‘taste’ for rabbits. In 2021, there were more than 150,000 of them who had to ensure tests, and almost all of them were killed.

Worse: the procedures causing them so-called ‘moderate’ pain continue to increase. 54,000 of them have been used for the production of blood-based products. And this procedure will not stop since it received authorisation to allow the use of 87,500 individuals in 2022.

19,000 female rabbits have been genetically modified to produce a protein in their milk. These experiments are considered ‘light’ and, again, they have a bright future ahead of them with a project to create new strains having been approved to produce this type of antibody in 2022.

Zebrafish: an exponential number of victims

Although zebrafish are not as numerous as rabbits in French animal testing establishments, their number does not stop growing and they are the subject of more and more ‘moderate’ and ‘severe’ experiments. In 2021, there were 23,000 that endured the first tests for both toxicology and ecotoxicology that were not even compulsory; and 15,000 to have been subjected to the second tests to study ‘animal diseases’.

It is hard to know what all of this is supposed to be for, but what is for certain is that a host of zebrafish suffered from it, with fishes’ ability to feel pain having been debated for a long time…

And then there are dogs and primates

Finally, more than 200 dogs and 130 primates have also been subjected to ‘severe’ experiments. Among them, 40 dogs were used to test the toxicity of human medications, while around fifteen primates were victims of unexpected complications.

These figures may seem anecdotal with regard to the millions of animals experimented on in France each year, but in reality they are very significant when we know that France makes up a part of the countries in Europe who carry out the most tests on dogs and primates.

Once again, it took patience to get the latest detailed figures on animal testing. We will stop at nothing and we will continue to distribute them so that everyone can know what is happening behind the doors of French laboratories. All of the figures from 2015 to 2021 are available on our site dedicated to the analysis of ministerial data.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

More than 1.7 million EU citizens are calling for the end of the fur trade

More than 1.7 million EU citizens are calling for the end of the fur trade

More than 1.7 million EU citizens are calling for the end of the fur trade
02.03.2023
Europe
More than 1.7 million EU citizens are calling for the end of the fur trade
Fashion

The Fur Free Europe European Citizens’ Initiative has ended earlier than expected after having won the support of more than 1.7 million EU citizens. Now it is time for the European Commission to act and to ban this barbaric practice in the whole of the European Union.

Launched on 18 May 2022 with the aim of obtaining one million signatures in one year, the ECI called on the EU to ban animal fur farms and from putting fur that comes from these farms on the market. It reached its goal in less than ten months with the support of more than 80 European activist associations, including several, like One Voice, who are members of the Fur Free Alliance. Yesterday evening, the ECI was officially closed and the signatures will now be sent for validation in accordance with the process before being presented to the European Commission.

As the French representative for Fur Free Alliance, One Voice believes that the number of signatures collected sends a very clear message on behalf of all EU citizens to the European Commission: breeding animals for fur must stop. This practice is not only cruel, it is also bad for the environment and causes serious problems for public health as proven by the hundreds of COVID-19 epidemics among farmed mink.

To date, political leaders from fourteen member states including Italy, France, Estonia, Latvia, and Austria have banned breeding animals for fur. Opinion surveys continue to show that the population is opposed to it, and a growing number of retailers are committing to no longer using fur, the success of which is shown by the Fur Free Retailer programme.

“I am delighted that the Fur Free Europe ECI has garnered so many signatures and I would like to thank all of those who have worked very hard for such a result to be possible. The message sent to the European Commission could not be clearer: it is time to put an end to this barbaric practice and to proclaim fur as defunct in the whole of the European Union”, stated Joh Vinding, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Fur Free Alliance (FFA).

The Initiative collected one million signatures in seven months, beating all records and making this ECI one of the most successful in history with 1,701,892 final signatures six months after its launch. This record number of signatures is the reason for its anticipated closure and represents a powerful message addressed to the European Commission.

The next phase of the process, which will last three months, is the validation of the signatures by member states. Then, the European Commission must take the ECI into consideration and provide a response within six months.

At the meeting of the European Union Council (Agriculture and Fisheries Council) in June 2021, the Netherlands and Austria filed a briefing note, supported by Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, and Slovakia, requesting that the European Commission forbids breeding animals for fur. The call to ban this practice within the EU for animal welfare, public health, and ethical consideration reasons has been supported by a total of twelve member states during deliberations on the document.

  • The complex behavioural needs of wild animals like American mink, foxes, and raccoon dogs cannot be satisfied in fur farms.
  • Animal fur farms also present an unacceptable risk for animal and human health, as proven by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hundreds of mink farms throughout Europe and North America were affected by coronavirus epidemics, leading to the mass slaughter of animals and new variants of the virus being revealed to have been transmitted from mink to humans. A recent epidemic of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) among breeding mink in Spain sparked renewed public health concerns.
  • Animal fur farms have a major environmental impact given that the treatment and dying of fur requires the use of toxic chemical products. In terms of soil pollution from toxic metals, fur production is classified among the five most polluting industries. The fur industry also constitutes a serious threat for native biodiversity. American mink and raccoon dogs that have escaped from breeding farms have established populations in the wild and are considered as exotic invasive species having significant negative impacts on native European plant life.
  • More than 1500 retailers, including Gucci, Adidas, H&M, and Zara, are committed to a future without fur and have joined the Fur Free Retailer programme.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice