News Archive - Page 6 of 122

One Voice defends Barny against scare shots

One Voice defends Barny against scare shots
One Voice defends Barny against scare shots
Wildlife

The State registered him as M 129. We named him Barny. On May 21, 2024, a two-year-old male bear had the misfortune to cross paths with humans. Although the encounter didn’t seem to frighten him, he didn’t show any sign of aggressiveness and hasn’t been seen since. But that’s all it took for the Ariège prefecture to demand the use of scare shots. We immediately attacked this text, and will be requesting its suspension at the Toulouse Administrative Court on Thursday July 4, at 2pm.

Barny risks becoming the target of rubber bullets or violent detonations, as do any other bear with “characteristics” similar to his own. All this to teach him to fear humans and make him flee… even though he hadn’t been seen for more than three weeks when the document was published, and six today!

Authorities blinded by their anti-bear frenzy…

The prefecture’s obstinacy in persecuting an individual who keeps his distance from humans is a reflection of its relentless policy against these animals. As long ago as 2022, the department tried to force through decrees that went against a previous court ruling, in order to terrorize the bears at all costs. This was repeated at the end of summer 2023, when the court once again had to call the prefecture to order. But for the prefect, it doesn’t matter if measures like detonations can cause hearing damage or risk separating cubs from their mothers, as long as it’s in the interests of the farmers.

… even though the State is responsible for their presence

Yet it was the State that was keen to reintroduce these animals to France. So much so that, “in the name of biodiversity”, it snatched individuals from their Slovenian forests and released them in the Pyrenees, where breeders and hunters have been working hard ever since to make life impossible for them. From the outset, we firmly opposed this idea. To no avail: while in 2018, the French Ministry of Ecological Transition was delighted that new bears were continuing to join our territory, it was still signing ministerial decrees authorizing the scaring of these same animals on an experimental basis. Since then, the bears, who never asked to be there, never stopped being harassed.

For Barny and his companions, we will be present at the Toulouse Administrative Court on July 4 at 2pm.

One Voice reveals images of mice subjected to the forced swim test in France

One Voice reveals images of mice subjected to the forced swim test in France
28.06.2024
One Voice reveals images of mice subjected to the forced swim test in France
Animal testing

At Magendie Neurocentre, on the premises of the University of Bordeaux, mice are being forced to swim. The aim? To measure the time after which they give up all hope of living, with a view to studying the efficacy of molecules against depression, at a time when promising alternatives are largely under-funded. While INSERM put forward the most fallacious arguments to guarantee the laboratory’s opacity (such as the defense of “copyright”), our victory in court today enables us to reveal the images of these “tests”.

Forced swimming: despair on the menu

Once removed from their tiny, overcrowded cages and inoculated with the molecule whose efficacy is being measured, each mouse is plunged into a water-filled tube. They begin by swimming frantically to try and find a way out, unsuccessfully trying to find holds to climb against the smooth walls. After long minutes of intense stress and panic, exhausted, they give up.

Just two years ago, we published images of these tests carried out in the USA. Today, after a battle against the laboratory’s desire to maintain the omerta on these practices, we can state with certainty that mice in France are suffering the same fate.

Repeated malfunctions and constant suffering at the Magendie Neurocenter

In addition to the experiments, the animals held and the humans working there have to put up with numerous malfunctions at the facility: flooding and fire safety problems, tropical temperatures and humidity in the animal house… A few days ago, we demanded an immediate inspection! These revelations undoubtedly prompted the center to quickly send us the images of forced swimming…

At a time when European law requires, among other things, that the number of animals in laboratories be “reduced” and “replaced” as far as possible, and that experiments be “refined”, we demand that the authorities massively fund alternative methods! If, like three out of four French people, you are opposed to animal experimentation (IPSOS/One Voice 2023 poll), demand an end to these tests in France!

generics.video.play

The fight for Samba goes on, new complaint for the last French circus elephant

The fight for Samba goes on, new complaint for the last French circus elephant
The fight for Samba goes on, new complaint for the last French circus elephant
Circuses

Thanks to a report, we found Samba. In mid-June, the Cirque d’Europe had taken up residence in Illiers-Combray, Eure-et-Loir, for a few days. For the first time, Samba was shown from the sky, and the smallness of her enclosure as well. We are filing a new complaint on the basis of these images, and are calling for her to be placed in a sanctuary.

Soon, the exploitation of wild animals will be banned in traveling circuses. But our leaders, instead of automatically ordering their placement in sanctuaries, are offering circus owners the chance to settle down while continuing to exploit these animals.

Solitude and confinement

For the first time, we reveal images of Samba taken from the sky. A makeshift enclosure, tiny, empty of occupation and solitude. Total boredom for this intelligent, sociable animal, who in the wild travels several dozen kilometers a day with their family. A sedentary lifestyle is the leading cause of arthritic disorders and pain in captive elephants, as confirmed by the many scientists who have examined our images of Samba. There’s no doubt about it, her left hind leg is in pain. On several occasions, she lifts it to relieve the pressure caused by lack of activity and being overweight.

Postures that hurt

During performances, guided by a stick and threatened by a hook, Samba is forced to perform ridiculous “acts”. Unlike usual, she now wears bands around her ankles. Could this be to hide injuries from public view?

The expert we contacted confirms this: “In addition, Samba is forced to adopt extremely abnormal positions and behaviors, such as climbing onto a tiny platform and spinning around repeatedly. She is also forced to carry her full weight on just two legs, and sometimes the left hind leg carries excessive and abnormal weight. The exercises performed during the show can also be a contributing factor to lameness.”

Yet everything is ready for her. A place awaits her in a sanctuary, the transporters are operational. We have the capacity to organize her transfer and are committed to taking care of everything. All we need is the agreement of the authorities.

We are filing another complaint. We continue to fight for Samba, so that she is not sent to a hospice-like zoo like Baby, nor ends her life as a prisoner of a circus. Sign our petition calling for her to be placed in a sanctuary.

generics.video.play

Dying wild boars and abandoned corpses: in the Nièvre department, hunters treat nature like a dustbin

Dying wild boars and abandoned corpses: in the Nièvre department, hunters treat nature like a dustbin
26.06.2024
Dying wild boars and abandoned corpses: in the Nièvre department, hunters treat nature like a dustbin
Hunting

Is abandoning corpses in the wild a new passion for hunters? After foxes from the Jura department, wild boars in the Nièvre department are the latest victims of this “hobby”, which kills tens of millions of animals every year. Wounded animals, agonizing for long hours, decomposing bodies left in the middle of the woods: these are the effects of hunting in the countryside! For these wild boars, we are filing a complaint against X.

For hunters, wild boars are just like any other waste!

While enjoying the arrival of summer in the forest, some walkers in the Nièvre department came across a macabre sight: the corpses of wild boars. And they were not done being surprised: a few yards away, in a pile of manure, they heard heavy breathing: a seriously wounded wild boar had been dying there, probably for many hours.

In this department, hunting is supposed to have been closed since the end of February. But for wild boars, there’s no respite! They can be shot as early as June 1, or even earlier for those with authorization. And, of course, they can be slaughtered all year round by order of the prefect, as part of administrative beat hunts that are often illegal, or by simple request as part of the “ESOD” classification. A continuous massacre.

To put a stop to this outrageous behavior, we’re filing a complaint!

Shooting animals and abandoning their remains in the middle of the forest, wounding some and leaving them in agony for hours, mutilating corpses and displaying them as trophies… And they dare to talk about “hunting ethics”!

A few weeks ago, we had a lieutenant of louveterie and pests convicted of abandoning dozens of fox corpses in a river. Today, we’re demanding justice for wild boars! We are filing a complaint today. To say no to these practices, sign our petition for a radical reform of hunting!

generics.video.play

For the living, let’s stop the far right!

For the living, let’s stop the far right!
24.06.2024
For the living, let’s stop the far right!
Multi-theme
Press release

On June 9, the far right made a historic breakthrough in France during the European elections. Following Emmanuel Macron’s dissolution of the national assembly, new legislative elections will be held on June 30 and July 7, leaving the risk of this political current seizing power. Focale pour le Sauvage, One Voice, ASPAS and Pôle Grands Prédateurs firmly oppose and denounce the far-right’s facade ecological program, and call on every citizen to support candidates genuinely committed to the Living.

Both through its votes in the various chambers of Parliament and through its positions, the extreme right is a real threat to biodiversity, the climate and the animal cause. Faced with the risk of seeing its ideas come to power in the next few days and as associations for the defense and protection of wildlife, we cannot remain indifferent to such a situation.

In particular, our associations would like to point out that the Rassemblement National has opposed the European Green Pact and the Nature Restoration Act, which would allow the implementation of measures to restore 20% of Europe’s degraded ecosystems.

We would also point out that representatives of this party campaign in favor of downgrading wolves from their strictly protected species’ status, and regularly defend the cruelest hunting and farming practices, such as hunting with hounds, underground hunting, trapping and factory farming. More generally, the Rassemblement National is opposed to the most ambitious proposals in terms of environmental protection.

Last but not least, we are very concerned about the freedoms of associations, which have been restricted in places where the elected representatives of the Front National, and then of the Rassemblement National (and other extreme right-wingers with or without labels), have been in positions of power.

So, because biodiversity needs us, our associations for the protection of nature and the defense of animals (including humans) are calling on all citizens committed to the Living World to mobilize in order to block the extreme right and to vote in these early legislative elections.

On June 30 and July 7, let’s vote for a livable world that respects life!

Focale pour le Sauvage
One Voice
ASPAS
Pôle Grands Prédateurs

Another glimpse of State cruelty: in the space of nine days, 586,558 animals – a quarter of the official annual figure – became “tools” in laboratories.

Another glimpse of State cruelty: in the space of nine days, 586,558 animals – a quarter of the official annual figure – became “tools” in laboratories.
17.06.2024
Another glimpse of State cruelty: in the space of nine days, 586,558 animals – a quarter of the official annual figure – became “tools” in laboratories.
Animal testing

The Ministry of Higher Education and Research tirelessly continues to approve projects imposing suffering and death on animals. A quarter of the annual number of animals used has been exceeded in just nine days.

With nearly 75% of the French population opposed to animal experimentation, and the support of our political representatives, we continue to demand transparency, the use of alternative methods and funding for research dedicated to them! Join us: write to the Ministry!

The MESR recently declared that 2,158,058 uses of animals were made in 2022. This figure is misleading, as it only takes into account the first uses of an animal. In reality, there are many more experiments carried out during the year. The fate of 586,558 animals was sealed in just a few days, from May 23 to 31: 537,266 mice, 480 monkeys, 91 dogs, 80 cats, 752 hamsters, 12,477 rats, 5,700 lizards, 13,823 fish, 7,360 frogs, 1,094 pigs, 1,653 rabbits, 70 sheep, 60 cows, 5,102 chickens and 550 other rodents (some projects don’t bother to specify the species)… Virtually all of them will then be euthanized. This is the appalling reality of French laboratories!

We are highlighting a representative but non-exhaustive selection of what is approved every day by our institutions…

Hundreds of monkeys:

34 marmosets will be subjected to severe pain with several heavy surgeries, weekly anesthesia, and will endure inflammation, infection, breathing difficulties, tremors, abscesses and brain edema to “better understand how the brain integrates and represents visual information”… When they are no longer useful, they will be put to death for tests and dissection to analyze their brains;
22 baboons will be used in antibody toxicity studies: they will undergo several anesthesia and punctures, before being euthanized to harvest their organs;
Hundreds of marmosets and macaques will be sedated to undergo multiple samples.

Dogs :

Dogs will also be exploited for drug trials, enduring injection-related pain as well as potential complications such as arterial hypotension or arrhythmias.

Frogs:

Thousands of xenopus tadpoles will be used to test pharmacological compounds and subjected to toxicities that can lead to death, potential paralysis as well as stress and pain. Fish are not to be outdone either, as several hundred have been subjected to a test designed to determine the acute toxicity of a chemical substance. The severity of the project is classified as severe.

The rabbits :

They are also among this week’s victims… One of the projects particularly stood out for us: if the rabbit doesn’t pass the trial entry tests, he is automatically killed. In another project, 1,155 rabbits will undergo surgery to inject a substance into their eye, followed by a series of painful examinations involving inflammation of eye tissue and retinal detachment. They will of course all be euthanized at the end of the procedures.

Small herbivores:

Finally, rodents are still the biggest victims of animal experimentation. They account for around 94% of all animals tested during this period, or 551,045 small herbivores. Here are a few illustrations:

To find ways of accelerating healing and treating certain skin conditions, 1,200 mice and 1,200 rats will undergo cell or tissue transplants, resulting in severe pain and euthanasia.
To prevent the development of obesity, 3,360 mice will be kept in individual cages for 26 weeks, undergoing numerous injections, examinations and sampling. This project is of severe severity and will result in the euthanasia of all the animals used.
In order to understand the mechanisms behind epileptic seizures, 1,714 genetically modified mice – “epilepsy mouse models” – undergo spontaneous epileptic seizures several times a day, with a risk of death and hypothermia. They also undergo electrode implantation, acoustic tests and the Morris pool test. So, before being euthanized, they suffer severe pain.
A mouse production project: 300,000 mice will be sampled. If they have the desired genetic traits, they will be used in other projects. If not, they will be euthanized.
To gain a better understanding of muscle regeneration, 390 mice will undergo human muscle transplants or 3D muscles generated by human cells. After enduring inflammation, pain, hypothermia, hypotension and hypoxia, they will all be euthanized.
Induction of colitis in 600 mice, who will suffer severe pain due to intestinal inflammation leading to general malaise, diarrhea and cachexia. All will be killed.
Injections of an inflammatory molecule will be performed on 3,508 baby mice, who will then undergo multiple electric shocks as part of behavioral tests and an intracranial injection of a product creating a lesion in the brain. The pain is severe, and all the animals will be euthanized to remove their brains.
A further 210 rats will also be subjected to repeated electric shocks, after being injected several times with a molecule that can lead to their death. They will all be put to death.
A bacterium responsible for certain nosocomial infections is injected into 560 mice, who endure terrible pain of severe severity.
150,000 mice will undergo biopsies and genetic mutations that can lead to pain, difficulty moving and, for some, death. The animals will either be killed as unusable, or kept alive to replenish breeding stock or to be used in other projects.
Induction of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 596 mice, who will suffer severe pain, muscle atrophy, gait disorders, weight loss and stress as a result of manipulations and behavioral tests.
Injection of tumor cells and various compounds: 6,000 mice will suffer severe pain, reduced mobility and weight loss before being euthanized.
As part of autism research, 6,950 mice will undergo numerous samples and implantation of either a metal frame on the surface of the skull, or intracerebral and intramuscular electrodes, or an intracerebral optical fiber. They will then be subjected to behavioral tests, including forced swimming, which we have decried for many years. All the mice will be killed in order to harvest their brains.

We demand that laboratories systematically use alternative methods, as required by law, and that professionals be trained in animal-free testing. We also call on our political representatives to allocate real funding to research into these methods. A strong political will translated into action is needed to overcome the stagnation and finally adopt an innovative approach!

To put an end to these cruel methods, which condemn millions of sentient beings to suffering and death every year, join us in calling for an end to animal experimentation through ethical change translated into action. You too can write to the Minister of Higher Education and Research: download the model letter.

AI-generated photo

Noiraude, a small cat, was shot near her home and died as a result of her injuries.

Noiraude, a small cat, was shot near her home and died as a result of her injuries.
17.06.2024
Noiraude, a small cat, was shot near her home and died as a result of her injuries.
Strays Noiraude should have died of old age, but…

Hit by a bullet in a town near Rennes, Noiraude was found very weakened by her family. After losing a lot of blood, the cat succumbed to her injuries at the veterinary clinic where she had been immediately taken. One Voice took action on her behalf, but unfortunately our complaint was dismissed.

When she was discovered lying in her basket outside her home on Saturday March 9, Noiraude was in agony, blood pouring from her left ear and her legs too weak to support her body. Where had she been hit by the bullet that had caused the bleeding? For the cat to have managed to drag herself back to her family after being shot like that, the accident, if it was one, couldn’t have happened too far away… Her people quickly took her to a vet. With a shattered eardrum, a lost eye, a damaged vertebra and the bullet still lodged in her neck with multiple splinters in her skull, Noiraude was very anemic at the time she was taken into care, due to the hemorrhaging. Every effort was made to save her. Despite emergency treatment, she did not survive.

A life prey to hunters…

Below the garden where the cat had taken refuge, very close to the houses, coypus are being stalked by hunters. Like foxes, martens and rooks, coypus are on the sinister list of “species likely to cause damage” (ESOD), and can be killed by guns and traps almost all year round.

For those who put them to death, Noiraude is just another collateral victim, like Mani, whose paw was caught in a snare, or Snooky, who had his middle and ring fingers amputated because of a leg-hold trap.

… and straying

Years before this ultimate violence, the little cat had been confronted with the scourge of straying. Born without a home, vulnerable to disease, bad weather and the cruelty of certain humans, she had finally been lucky enough to be taken in by a loving family, along with her mother. Thousands of felines can’t say the same and die every year in the streets, forgotten by all, when they’re not slaughtered at the pound.

Noiraude should have died of old age, in peace and love, at home, long after an eighth birthday she won’t be able to celebrate. The bullets that keep whistling through our countryside have robbed her of this right. On her behalf, we filed a complaint alongside her family. A few weeks later, the case was finally dismissed. As is all too often the case, the unidentified perpetrator remains unpunished.

For all stray cats, sign our petitions to demand a national emergency plan and an end to euthanasia in pounds.

Badgers: One Voice steps up the pressure against underground hunting! Eleven upcoming hearings

Badgers: One Voice steps up the pressure against underground hunting! Eleven upcoming hearings
Badgers: One Voice steps up the pressure against underground hunting! Eleven upcoming hearings
Hunting

At a time when young badgers are just emerging from their burrows and diggers are getting ready to go into action, we are stepping up the pressure on prefects more than ever! Together with AVES and ASPAS, we’ll be at the Bordeaux administrative court on June 19 at 10 a.m. to obtain an emergency suspension of digging in the Lot-et-Garonne department, and on June 26 at 10 a.m. for the Gironde department. Elsewhere in France, judges will give final rulings on the 2023 supplementary periods in the Puy-de-Dôme, Savoie, Rhône, Vienne, Charente-Maritime, Corrèze, Essonne, Morbihan and Côtes-d’Armor departments. Nine other hearings are already scheduled.

Urgent action to save badgers…..

Finistère, Aveyron, Cher, Morbihan, Eure, Côtes-d’Armor… In all these departments, hunters had to leave their shovels in the garage and will have to make do with forest walks instead of slaughtering animals right down to the bottom of their burrows! Although these procedures have already saved 2300 individuals, our fight is far from over: despite emergency court rulings across France, some prefects continue to authorize supplementary periods to the hunting season when badgers are already vulnerable.

We’re on deck, and will be attacking these outrageous derogations wherever we can! On June 16 and 26 at 10 a.m., together with AVES and ASPAS, we will be pleading before the Bordeaux administrative court to obtain the suspension of summer digging in Lot-et-Garonne and Gironde.

….. and putting an end to the supplementary period of underground hunting in all departments

In spring 2023, these pleas had enabled us, after a marathon lasting several months, to save almost 4,000 lives. In all these departments, judges must now rule definitively on the legality of all these authorizations! A number of hearings on the merits are scheduled over the coming weeks:

June 13 at 10am in Clermont-Ferrand for the Puy-de-Dôme department (with FNE Aura, FNE 63 and LPO Aura, AVES and Animal Cross);
June 20 at 2:15pm in Grenoble for the Savoie department (with FNE Aura, FNE 74, LPO Aura and Animal Cross);
June 25 at 2:30pm in Lyon for the Rhône department (with FNE Aura, FNE Rhône and LPO Aura);
June 27 at 9:30am in Poitiers for the Vienne department (with LPO and Vienne Nature) and the Charente-Maritime department;
June 27 at 9:30am in Limoges for the Corrèze department;
June 28 at 10:30am in Versailles for the Essonne department;
July 1 at 9:45am in Rennes for the Morbihan and Côtes d’Armor departments (with AVES).

The hours of the supplementary underground hunting period are more than ever numbered. In the face of this danger, hunters, seeing themselves as victims and blindly reversing the balance of power, have called for “general mobilization” and will do everything in their power to defend their “hobby”! But who’s got the guns? Who’s persecuting whom? Badgers and nature are the ones who bear the scars of their aggressions.

We’ll keep up the fight for as long as it takes, and speak out on behalf of these animals, in coordination with all the associations involved in this fight! To support us, sign our petitions for an end to underground hunting, the protection of badgers, and a radical reform of hunting!

Suspensions already obtained for spring 2024 on June 10, 2024: Finistère, Aveyron, Morbihan, Cher, Côtes-d’Armor, Eure.

Dolphinariums: a ban on orca possession, dolphin reproduction ?…

Dolphinariums: a ban on orca possession, dolphin reproduction ?
11.06.2024
Dolphinariums: a ban on orca possession, dolphin reproduction ?… More pretense with a draft ministerial decree
Dolphinariums More pretense with a draft ministerial decree

Broadly speaking, the November 30, 2021 law promised to ban the keeping of cetaceans in aquatic parks, as well as their reproduction, from 2026. But after the media impact, when you look at the asterisks, the reality is quite different. Dolphinariums can continue to operate as long as the exploitation of orcas or dolphins is part of a “scientific program”. However, almost three years after the law came into force, these terms are still not defined, leaving the field open to multiple interpretations.

In the meantime, the French Ministry of Ecological Transition has opened a public consultation until June 18, with a draft decree aimed at setting the general characteristics and operating rules of establishments authorized to house live cetacean specimens.

A facade of progress

While, regarding the form, the draft decree does seem to offer some improvements in terms of the well-being of orcas and dolphins held captive in these parks, several provisions remain open to criticism.

The 2021 law prohibits cetacean shows. Nevertheless, the definition of “spectacle” in the draft decree leaves the door open to misuse.

“Is considered a show the staging for entertainment purposes in front of an audience of exercises performed under duress by cetaceans, as well as those corresponding neither to behaviors specific to the species, nor to educational interests, nor to medical training.”

What is “duress”? What is “educational interest”?

The project also authorizes the reproduction of dolphins under certain conditions, notably in the context of the undefined notion of “scientific programs”. The parks thus retain the possibility of renewing and increasing their “stocks”, and perpetuating indefinitely the reproduction of this species endowed with extreme intelligence and sensitivity.

The National council of nature protection opposed this provision, pointing out that “the possibility of continuing to hold not only animals of the Orca and Bottlenose dolphin species held prior to December 2, 2026, but also of allowing (subject to authorization) bottlenose dolphins to be reproduced in captivity as part of scientific programs, is not only unjustified, but also constitutes an open door to increasing the number of animals in establishments, or even transferring them to foreign establishments.”

New standards also regulate the transport of cetaceans. Until now, there was no time limit. Transport is now limited to… twenty-four hours. Exports anywhere in the world will therefore be authorized, leaving Marineland free to sell and ship Wikie and Keijo to Japan. What are we to think, too, when we realize that it is “the veterinarian of the establishment of departure” who will be responsible for assessing the state of health and therefore the fitness of the animals to travel, prior to transport? The same veterinarian who would therefore be mandated by the dolphinarium, and not an independent specialist.

In January, we obtained a court order to prevent Wikie, Keijo and Inouk from leaving for Japan, pending the independent veterinary assessment ordered by the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal. Since then, Inouk has passed away, just a few months after Moana, who had only known a life in captivity. For his family, we continue to rally to obtain their placement in a sanctuary. Join us in this fight, sign our petition.

Kittens slaughtered and decapitated, or the horror of feline straying in France

Kittens slaughtered and decapitated, or the horror of feline straying in France
05.06.2024
Kittens slaughtered and decapitated, or the horror of feline straying in France
Strays

Monday May 20 should have been an ordinary day for the volunteer on Haute Street in the Gard town of Anduze. Every day, he visits the place where the cats sterilized by the association Un Chat pour la Vie live, to feed them and make sure they’re doing well. What a shock it was when he found the bodies of four severely injured kittens. Although the chances of identifying the perpetrator of these barbaric acts are slim, we are filing a complaint alongside this association, with which we have already cooperated, so that an investigation can be launched.

Photos : Association Un Chat pour la Vie

Stray cats, unloved ones and ready-made victims of all kinds of mistreatment

Across France, many cat lovers are taking action to care for, feed and sterilize stray cats in their municipalities. In Anduze, several cats have been cared for by our partner. Unfortunately, a cat that had been present on the site for several months proved to be more cunning than humans and would not let herself be captured. In April, she gave birth to four kittens. At the same time, two cat shelters were stolen. Clearly, the presence of these animals is disturbing someone.

Torture and barbarism, atrocities perpetrated on the kittens

On Monday May 20, the kittens, only a few weeks old, were found severely mutilated. Their tiny bodies had gaping wounds, and one had been decapitated, its head found a few meters away. Only one survived the barbaric acts to which they were all subjected. He is now safe. The clean, precise lesions suggest that a tool was used to make them suffer as much as possible before decimating the siblings.

The tragic fate of millions of cats

The short lives of these kittens should remind us of the fate of all these homeless felines. On a daily basis, they struggle to fight off disease, to find enough to live on, to protect themselves from bad weather, and to cope with the malice of those who consider them “pests” instead of seeing them for what they really are: victims. Of human violence, of the inaction of the State and our representatives, of the lack of real and a fortiori severe penal sanctions, of the absence of sterilization, of classified ads on the Internet, of wild abandonment, of slaughtering in pounds…

We are filing a complaint on their behalf. Sterilization is the only solution to put an end to all this misery. Individuals and public services alike must assume their responsibilities. Help us make the voice of stray cats heard, and sign our petition for a national emergency plan.