News Archive - Page 64 of 148

Defending wolves at administrative tribunals continues for One Voice!

Defending wolves at administrative tribunals continues for One Voice!
12.12.2022
France
Defending wolves at administrative tribunals continues for One Voice!
Wildlife

One Voice is fighting to get two prefectural decrees that we oppose allowing wolves to be killed with reinforced defensive shots suspended and cancelled. One in Var, for which the hearing will take place on Tuesday 13 December at 2:30pm in Toulon, the other in the Alpes-Maritimes for which we will be heard on 14 December at 11am in Nice. This is urgent for these animals from a protected species, hunted relentlessly since they came back to French soil.

A demonised perspective on wolves and dogmatic decisions

Whether it be in Nîmes or Montpellier, where the previous hearings took place, urgent applications judges have not been kind to wolves. One, after having rolled their eyes when our lawyer spoke, ultimately
did not give a reason for his decision to dismiss. As for the other, while there was no report or document from administration, they stated during the hearing that they had no reason to doubt the prefecture’s word. What use is an administrative tribunal in this case if not to settle debates without dogmatism or ideology?

We hope this time that our arguments will be, if not listened to, at least heard, or even considered! Who knows, the judges may finally allow themselves to be convinced…? In fact, to allow wolves to be the target of shooting and as it concerns a species protected on a European level and also under French law, a certain amount of factors must be met.

Prefectures do not even bother to properly justify their decisions

The Var decree of 7 November that we are contesting allows reinforced defence shots on wolves at the Verjon Common Agricultural Operating Group, shots that are an exception to this protection. Yet the Prefecture’s justification is very vague and stereotypical (on protection measures, attacks, execution of simple shots). We are not particularly certain that simple defence shots have really been carried out before going straight to this new, increased stage… Likewise, there is still a grey area on the protection of animals bred by this agricultural group.

In the same way, we attacked the decree from the Alpes-Maritimes Prefect on 2 November authorising reinforced shots on wolves. Prefectural motivations featuring here are just as imprecise.

We therefore have a serious doubt on the legality of the decrees, and the deaths of the wolves concerned is an irreversible and vital urgency for them and for the conservation of their species, which is still very weak. Two key elements to win an emergency interim suspension.

Worthless protection

In France, authorities prefer wolves to be dead. This is why they are not really as protected as they were when they were not in national territory and they species was ‘extinct’ here… In fact, it was not even necessary to take the slightest protection measures, since they were not present! It is a fool’s game that we are playing with the Ministry of the Ecological Transition and the Prefect coordinating the Wolf Plan.

We know that the hunting lobby and farmers are pushing our leaders to declassify wolves to make individuals who are already vulnerable from this species huntable once again. This lobby spends its time demonising and ‘crying wolf’ even when animals from other species are involved. A scandal that moves no one other than us, animal defenders. It would be unacceptable for us to get to this point. Wolves have an essential role in ecosystems and the right to live in peace by and for themselves.

The State authorised 174 wolves to be killed officially each year and each year this number is reviewed as increasing. It was 118 in 2021… Without counting those who will be irreversibly poached. We will never stop fighting for them.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Official hunts: One Voice is fighting the decrees from the Moselle and Bouches-du-Rhône Prefects

Official hunts: One Voice is fighting the decrees from the Moselle and Bouches-du-Rhône Prefects
12.12.2022
France
Official hunts: One Voice is fighting the decrees from the Moselle and Bouches-du-Rhône Prefects
Wildlife

Official hunts authorised in Moselle and Bouches-du-Rhône are not justified under the law, and above all pursue the objective of satisfying hunters’ needs. One Voice is fighting two decrees, to remind the prefects that official hunts, different from the hunting regime, must remain exceptional and respond to precise circumstances. The hearing against the prefect’s decree is set for 14 December 2022 in Strasbourg, and the Marseille Administrative Tribunal urgent applications judge will set the date for the hearing against the Bouches-du-Rhône decree at a later date.

Official hunts allow the prefect to arrange, at any time, including during the night and outside of the hunting season, the killing of certain animals. However, this possibility is guided by the law and must respect the conditions set in the Environmental Code. The hunt must in particular be legally justified by proof of ‘significant damage’ caused by animals to crops, or even due to health risks.

Nowadays, official hunts have turned away from their original aim for the sole purpose of responding to hunters’ demands.

The Moselle Prefect’s decree of 9 November that we are fighting authorises an official hunt of more than seven months (up to 30 June 2023) targeting wild boars, wood pigeons, stock doves, rock doves, rooks, and carrion crows. The decree is clear: its objective is “the destruction of all” of the six species of animals concerned. A planned massacre.

In Bouches-du-Rhône, the Prefect authorised an official deer hunt. The hunter who will carry it out will put all those who it comes across in several hectares of land to death, and can hunt them “in all areas where they come from” and “in all areas in which they take refuge”. Everyone and everywhere, in short…

Prefectures could have made an effort to argue to show that they do not blindly obey the hunters’ lobby… But in both cases, no precise figures are provided to support the ‘significant damage’ caused by the animals targeted. Prefects are happy with general statements and reports on damage that they have no proof of. They also do not provide enough guidance on official hunts, either geographically or of their plans. And clearly, these two decrees have not been submitted for public consultation…

Official hunts must remain rare, and cannot establish exemptions in agreement with hunters for them to get out of following hunting regulations.

While hunts have already begun in these two departments, One Voice will be at the Strasbourg and Marseille Administrative Tribunals to get animals’ voices heard and remind the prefects that they cannot avoid the law to satisfy hunters.

One Voice is reiterating its appeal for a radical reform of hunting: to support this appeal, sign our petition!

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

One Voice is requesting a ban on a very painful experiment on more than 27,000 animals

One Voice is requesting a ban on a very painful experiment on more than 27,000 animals
12.12.2022
France
One Voice is requesting a ban on a very painful experiment on more than 27,000 animals
Animal testing

On 14 December, the urgent applications judge from the Paris Administrative Tribunal, referred to by One Voice, ruled on the request to suspend the authorisation of the animal testing project. The targeted project was authorised on 10 July 2022 by the Ministry of Research, and planned to subject more than 27,000 rodents to ‘severe’ experiments which would artificially induce real epileptic seizures through audio shockwaves, injections, or electric shocks in the eyes or brain, several times over for some of them.

When you know how sociable and creative these small mammals are, your heart sinks at the idea of what they endure in laboratories. This is no exception. Researchers will induce epileptic seizures on 8700 mice, 17,730 rats, and 1000 gerbils. How?

After having had holes made in their skulls and their brains filled with electrodes and various objects, each of these individuals will have to endure electric shocks or be exposed to stressful sounds at a very high volume until it causes a loss of consciousness and convulsions. In the United States, in a similar procedure, rodents were enclosed in a box for three whole minutes with a domestic security alarm set at 110-120 dB – which is very loud, especially for a mouse. Methods are as varied as they are horrifying.

One Voice is asking for the project to be cancelled

We discovered this project after its publication on the ALURES database, which lists animal testing project summaries approved within the European Union since 2021.

On 9 September, we asked the Ministry of Research to send us the necessary documents to better understand the project. Two months later, they simply sent us the authorisation report and the sheet containing a ‘favourable’ mention from the ethical committee. The Association has therefore filed an emergency interim suspension proceeding and a cancellation plea at the Paris Administrative Tribunal.

An illegal project…

The regulations are clear on this subject: the reuse of animals who have been subjected to an initial severe procedure is supposed to be forbidden. What’s more, the committee who assessed it came down against ‘replacement’ (one of the ‘three Rs’ in animal testing).

Furthermore, the project summary that we obtained only mentioned, with regard to the efforts made to reduce the suffering of the animals used, administering an anaesthetic gel on rodents’ eyes and post-operative painkillers. This is the bare minimum required by regulations, and this still results in them being classified as ‘severe’ procedures – the highest level of suffering in the European Union regulation framework.

…so it is possible for it to happen!

Still, according to the project summary, the aim of these tests is to verify the toxicity and efficacy of new pharmacological substances. But when we know the mediocre track record of toxicity tests on animals to predict human responses to medications, there is a lot to doubt about the benefits of this new project.

The laboratory definitively maintains that, despite the existence of neuronal cultures or the possibility of working on pieces of brain from deceased epileptic people, the efficacy of substances ‘must’ be shown on animals. No need to argue apparently. But for One Voice, the ‘replacement’ of animals with other methods would be the ideal, an ideal also aimed towards by the European regulation that implemented the 3 Rs.

In addition, the laboratory presents reuse of the same animals for several epileptic seizures as a ‘reduction’ method for the number of animals used. Or how to artificially reduce the figures by inflicting repeated suffering on the same individuals… this is where we go back to where we started: it is banned.

The hearing will be held on 14 December at 3pm at the Paris Administrative Tribunal.

To go further and discover different types of research and levels of animal suffering in French laboratories, you can consult our recently published site dedicated to analysing ministerial data.

Warning: the content of the below images is difficult to look at.

The visual images at the top of the article do not belong to One Voice and come from Stereotaxic implantation of EEG electrodes in the rat.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Pound staff get their hands on stray cats…

Pound staff get their hands on stray cats…
08.12.2022
Normandie
Pound staff get their hands on stray cats…
Domestic animals

Here is the second section of our campaign in pounds in France, which highlights the way in which our country treats cats. This investigation near Avranches in Normandy allows us to show, with a specific case, the very real consequences of individuals and public authorities not being responsible when it comes to cats. In other words, the suffering, disease, and ultimately slaughter – who still dares to talk about euthanasia here?! – of those who do not die in the streets in pounds. One Voice is organising action to raise awareness throughout France, and calling for an urgent plan to combat feline straying.

Gateways to employment, an integration project, made up of odds and ends

Should animals who are already homeless have to endure the lack of hygiene, discomfort, and psychological and social fragility of the humans who look after them once they are rescued?

When we received the first report on this pound-rescue, the Bardot Foundation and former volunteers had already called out to the prefecture several times since 2015, without much success. Like for SIVU 47, the first part of our campaign in pounds, the manager of a neighbouring rescue centre herself had tried over and over again to improve the situation. Including with the support of the Confédération nationale de défense de l’animal [National Confederation for Animal Defence], by bringing their attention to hygiene problems, a lack of respect for the regulations, and a lack of training for the staff with disastrous consequences for the animals.

Gateways to employment also offer workshops aimed at reintegration through other activities such as planting vegetables and plants but also through work. This social mission is exemplary… while sentient beings in distress themselves do not come into play.

Our investigation reveals that most cats taken in are killed there!

When our investigators were finally able to visit the site, lockdowns and interdepartmental transport restrictions having prevented our usual responsiveness, there were several improvements in the infrastructures. In the exterior space of the cattery, for example, a concrete slab had been poured in place of the beaten earth that was there before. But it is still impossible to clean it satisfactorily.

Hygiene, lighting, climatic hazards, illnesses and injuries, escapes: basic problems still existed. For months, no cats were put up for adoption because no treatment was planned for them. After a quarantine spent crammed into a shed with no daylight, without insulation and with no veterinary visit, they were placed into a communal cattery. Before this, there were no preliminary FIV or FeLV tests either. A complete lack of care for these cats, the majority of them affected by coryza and intestinal problems…

Are unwell kittens and cats here being exposed to the cold again now? That is the problem with a lack of public money and precarious solutions: we have to choose between two unsuitable solutions and it is the cats who pay the price.

2020 was a terrible year for cats in the pound-rescue in Sud Manche. Real carnage happened there. The knacker who comes along when the pound has filled their 200kg freezer up with bodies, in other words usually approximately every six months to a year, came three times more often. And for good reason! Hundreds of cats died throughout the year, most of them without explanation.

Did they die from illness? If yes, which one? Were they ‘euthanised’? If yes, by whom and for what reason? One day, ten deaths occurred, nine of which were ‘euthanasias’. Kittens were slaughtered for no reason and sometimes without a veterinarian being present. By whom? How? The cats and the few dogs found in the freezer had not all been seen by a veterinarian. Their open for adoption profile was taken off the Facebook page. Incidentally, we are wondering how some kittens were killed because frozen blood was visible in their throats. The DDPP (veterinary services) pinned this disastrous management on the rescue-pound and asked for new procedures.

The dogs, during the same period, had mostly been returned to their families or adopted. It is clear that the treatment by the rescue-pound is not the same towards them at all… And also the treatment that certain individuals subject cats to by neglecting to get them microchipped and neutered.

Resolve the problem by attacking it at its root

We have been asking for a long time, and even more so since 2018, for an urgent plan for stray cats in France. The November 2021 law illustrates its shortcomings, one of which and by no means least is not having enforced neutering on non-LOOF cats throughout the country, with a clear layout of towns and a real commitment from the State and public services.

The Chatipi programme that we are developing cannot fulfil the educational mission for stray cats and resolve the national problem that they are faced with alone. There are currently fifteen million cats in French homes and double the number of dogs. And almost as many are having to get by alone in our streets, endure the harsh elements, hunger, thirst, and sometimes human violence. Because in our country, no less than eleven million cats are stray in towns, villages, and the countryside. This figure, reported a few years ago, is without doubt very underestimated today.

In pounds, if a cat is not microchipped, it will be killed after the eight required days if it is not claimed or transferred into a rescue centre… if it is not overloaded as is unfortunately the case everywhere.

Individuals must shoulder their responsibilities. Living with one or more cats is not inconsequential. They need us, their supposed independence conceals a great vulnerability. They cannot survive on the streets. No litter should be born there, far away from the sight and protection of humans. Each kitten must be microchipped and neutered before six months of age, and public services must invest hugely in neutering stray cats. In each commune. Pounds and rescue centres are structurally lacking in resources; the State must intervene.

On the weekend of 10 and 11 December, our activists will be out on the streets throughout France (in Aix-en-Provence, Amiens, Gap, Golfe Juan, La Rochelle, Lille, Lyon, Nice, Paris, Tours, Troyes, and on 14 December in Bordeaux), to raise awareness of feline straying and of possible and effective solutions: systematic neutering of non-LOOF cats and the fight against compulsive buying on the internet, particularly with the upcoming holidays.

You can sign our petitions for an urgent plan for stray cats, but also for better protection for cats and dogs, our companions.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Blood farms: when animal testing serves the profitability of European farms

Blood farms: when animal testing serves the profitability of European farms
06.12.2022
International
Blood farms: when animal testing serves the profitability of European farms
Animal testing

From porthole cows to rapidly grown chickens, it is hard to imagine a more horrific treatment than that reserved for pregnant mares whose blood is taken for the eCG hormone, used in French breeding farms to schedule ovulation and births. We wrote to Gircor three months ago. Welfarm have just revealed new footage.

For decades, public organisations have defended animal testing, particularly when it involves livestock animals. This is how the INRA [French National Institute for Agricultural Research], who has been looking to increase productivity of animals farmed for their meat or fluids since the 1960s, has more recently become involved in the foie gras industry, while the Ministry of Agriculture defended the use of porthole cows.

Zootechnics and animal testing

These animal testing practices reveal what we call zootechnics, which study and carry out tests on breeding conditions and animal exploitation. Every time, you can hear the words ‘animal welfare’ being echoed in the background.

But it is hard to imagine a more horrific treatment than that reserved for pregnant mares whose blood is taken to produce the eCG hormone, used in French breeding farms to schedule ovulation and births.

The horror of blood farms, from South America to Iceland

In South America, after four months of pregnancy and heavy blood tests, these mares are aborted manually, without any anaesthesia, to then be made pregnant again and subjected to the same treatment until they are so exhausted that they cannot be used.

Uncovering the footage circulated in France by Welfarm in 2017 and 2018, French companies ended up turning to Iceland, where pregnancies are carried to term and the foals sent to the abattoir. But the footage taken in 2021 shows that the situation in Iceland is no better than in South America.

A new investigation from the Animal Welfare Foundation | Tierschutzbund Zürich (AWF|TSB) in South America, carried out in 2021 and 2022, reveals that the situation is not getting better: mares are beaten, injured without being treated, malnourished, and neglected…

The eCG hormone in France

France is the only recipient in the European Union of the eCG powder produced by the Syntex company in Uruguay for astronomical amounts.

According to a French specialist questioned in 2017, the use of the eCG hormone is “almost systematic in breeding farms for goats and sheep [in France], in order to ensure milk production all year round. eCG is also used widely to schedule births and to increase the number of piglets per sow.

This is the “double disaster” reported: mares are farmed and mistreated elsewhere in the world to allow French breeding farms to better profit from their farming of sows, cows, sheep, and goats.

And eCG is the source of a third disaster: its use inevitably involves tests on animals. As long as they support a breeding system that is unnecessary, these tests, such as the production of eCG, are not vital and must therefore be considered illegal under rural legislation.

What the authorities concerned are saying

In 2017, the Ordre national des vétérinaires [National Association of Veterinarians] hid behind ‘animal welfare’ and the impossibility of knowing precisely where the eCG used in France comes from to avoid having to come down unfavourably on its use.

Three months ago, we sent a letter to Gircor, a French animal testing lobby, in order to see if they would go so far as to justify tests and practices that cause suffering to serve a breeding system that is not necessary. We have not received a reply…

What can you do?

If these practices outrage you as they do us, sign the petition requesting a pure and simple ban on the production and importation of the eCG hormone within the European Union.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Wild boar head left on a pathway: we are writing to the appropriate authorities

Wild boar head left on a pathway: we are writing to the appropriate authorities
05.12.2022
Gard
Wild boar head left on a pathway: we are writing to the appropriate authorities
Wildlife

We were informed about photos taken on 5 December of a wild boar’s head left on a public bench in the town of Saint-Maurice-de-Cazevieille (Gard). We have just written to the town hall, the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB, the hunting police in particular), and the Gard Prefecture.

A wild boar’s head, cut off, was put down and left on a public bench in a town in Gard. Beyond the cruelty of this act, the total absence of respect for the animal killed, and the shock undoubtedly caused to passers-by – particularly children – by the sight of an abandoned wild boar head, this act is a criminal offence.

We have written to the appropriate authorities (the town hall, OFB, and Prefecture), because this head could legally be considered as litter, which is the responsibility of the town hall; additionally, the animal could have been killed outside of any rules applicable to hunting, which is the responsibility of both the OFB and the Prefecture…

Just for abandoning this animal’s body part on a public road could risk up to two years of imprisonment and a €75,000 fine. If in addition the regulations on hunting had not been followed… Faced with acts of provocation by hunters, we think that checks should be increased.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Puppy show in Bourg-en-Bresse: an open letter to Town Mayor Jean-François Debat

Puppy show in Bourg-en-Bresse: an open letter to Town Mayor Jean-François Debat
02.12.2022
Ain
Puppy show in Bourg-en-Bresse: an open letter to Town Mayor Jean-François Debat
Domestic animals

While selling cats and dogs in pet shops should be banned by 2024, ‘puppy shows’ do not seem close to giving up the lucrative trade of pets. We condemn this practice and are writing an open letter to the Bourg-en-Bresse local council, who welcomed a ‘puppy show’ on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 December.

Strasbourg, 2 December 2022

Dear Mayor,

We have been informed that a ‘puppy show’ is being held in Bourg-en-Bresse on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 December.

One Voice, whose purpose is to protect and defend animals and nature, are worried about the image being spread by this ‘show’ and about the fact that your town is encouraging the trade of pets, going against the tide of what our society really needs.

The law against animal abuse enacted in November 2022 banned the sale of puppies and kittens in pet shops and increased sanctions in cases of abuse against them.

A ‘puppy show’… Like a ‘car show’? Very young sentient beings being sold like cars? Don’t even! Because unlike car buyers, puppy ‘consumers’ mostly do not take the trouble to think before going ahead with their purchase. They will buy a baby Australian Shepherd just like they bought themselves a jumper to then be resold on Vinted. Or succumb to a kitten like they do a pair of shoes that they will return because they make their feet hurt. Without realising that welcoming an animal into your home means committing to caring for them for fifteen years and that this new arrival in the house represents a profound change. These shows give little information to their clients, who are often unaware of the consequences of this compulsive purchase, of sharing a happy life with their new companion, cute though it may be.

We must also remember that these commercial events involving living beings encourage breeding in abusive conditions for those being bred. To keep making more profit, they must keep producing more puppies.

In a context where rescue centres are overpopulated, where the price of food has skyrocketed, where keeping a ‘pet’ is more and more expensive, it would have been really useful to organise a show which puts cats and dogs up for adoption, with the support of associations in your region. Visitors would have received tailored information, without pressure, with the certainty that their decision would be right, respecting both animals and humans.

In November 2020, we had already written to you about your policy regarding animals. Today, we are urging you to stop welcoming and promoting these shows that objectify animals instead of educating about them, and only increase the number of animals abused or abandoned in your area.

Our Association is ready to give our expertise with regard to policies concerning pet animals and remains available to you for any request for additional information.

We thank you for your attention to this letter and ask that you accept our highest consideration, Mr Mayor.

Muriel Arnal, President

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Animal testing like you have never seen

Animal testing like you have never seen
01.12.2022
France
Animal testing like you have never seen
Animal testing

Thanks to relentless work carried out in the spring with the aim of providing the public with a complete representation of current practices in France in animal testing, One Voice has today unveiled an interactive web page combining explanations and analyses. An important and accessible resource for the general public and journalists.

Although they have not distributed them, the Ministry of Research has detailed figures on animal testing, such as those declared by laboratories. This data, much more interesting than the ‘statistical surveys’ that were published late and strewn with typos and omissions, have been obtained by One Voice on request from the Ministry.

Since the start of the year, we have analysed them and formatted them to better inform you. Today we have revealed a new version, expanded considerably, of our dedicated page on the experimentation-animale.com site, better documented than the Ministry’s statistical surveys.

Detailed and current information

Firstly, the species used are detailed. Together with mice, dogs, macaques and zebrafish, whose use is well-known, we show that laboratories exploit hedgehogs, wild boars, dolphins, canaries, salmon, foxes, turkeys, and sardines, among so many animals grouped in the ‘other’ categories of the statistics published.

Our page also shows the data concerning the types of research and the levels of pain and stress inflicted on animals, always accompanied with examples of project summaries approved in 2022 by the Ministry and that can be shared on Twitter. What better way to get informed to respond to those who claim that we only inform on practices from the 1980s!

Annotated graphs and a dictionary

All of the graphs available on the page are accompanied by an annotation regarding the chosen species. Even those who are not comfortable with graphs will therefore have access to important information.

Finally, we have written a small animal testing ‘glossary’, available on a separate page, but also directly on the main page, in order to guide people who are not yet familiar with terms such as ‘zootechnics’, ‘no wake procedure’, or ‘routine production’.

A resource for journalists

Beyond its benefits for the general public, we hope that journalists will use this page as an indispensable resource to report on recent and tangible animal testing practices in France, in order to increase the debate by surpassing subterfuge in the industry and obscurity by public authorities.

We are available to the media to provide complete datasets, which contain even more details than we can publish at this time.

And then?

In fact, this page will not stop there: it has been created to expand over the years with new French figures, but also with detailed research goals included in graphs (types of toxicity testing for the purpose of basic research, including diseases studied in applied research), a comparison against figures from other European countries, the possibility of grouping several species on one graph, and numerous other functionalities.

Do not hesitate to write to us if you come across any problems while exploring this resource, if you notice any errors or typos, or if you would like to see any further definitions or new functionalities.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Two foxes hung at the entrance of town: One Voice is launching a witness appeal

Two foxes hung at the entrance of town: One Voice is launching a witness appeal
29.11.2022
Saône-et-Loire
Two foxes hung at the entrance of town: One Voice is launching a witness appeal
Wildlife

Two foxes have been hung at the entrance of the Dracy-Saint-Loup town on 28 November. One Voice are rising up against this act of cruelty. For the time being, the perpetrators have not been identified. One Voice is launching an appeal to anyone who has information so that they can be pursued and sentenced.

On 28 November 2022, the inhabitants of the Dracy-Saint-Loup town (Saône-et-Loire) have discovered with horror the bodies of two foxes hung on the entrance sign of their town. Having been informed, the Mayor contacted the police who recorded the facts and removed the foxes. Because they did not have any information allowing them to identify those responsible, for now the Mayor has not referred the matter to the public prosecutor.

Beyond the monstrosity of this staged event, these acts constitute a criminal offence and must not remain unpunished.

Killing wild animals is, in France, subject to hunting legislation. The ignorance of these rules can be heavily punished, with penalties ranging from a simple fine to imprisonment. Additionally, the foxes’ corpses could be considered as ‘litter’ on a legal level. Abandoning them on a public road constitutes a crime punishable by a two-year prison sentence and a €75,000 fine. The perpetrators of these acts must be pursued and sentenced.

Animals referred to as ‘pests’, such as those who are protected, in the firing line of authorities

If foxes are classified as a ‘species likely to cause damage’, it is to satisfy the impulses — sorry, we have to say the passions — of hunters.
Because even when animals are protected, authorities publish exemption after exemption… Clearly, when the State itself takes pleasure in considering animals as ‘pests’, how can these animals be respected, protected, even simply left in peace?

We are asking witnesses to protest!

The One Voice Association is therefore launching an appeal and is offering a sum of €10,000 to anyone who can give solid information that can formally identify, beyond any reasonable doubt, those responsible for these acts, asking them to email us at info@one-voice.fr.

This information will be sent to the public prosecutor in the context of a complaint by the Association.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Historical ruling: the circus trainer of the ten tigers seized, has been heavily convicted!

Historical ruling: the circus trainer of the ten tigers seized, has been heavily convicted!
28.11.2022
France
Historical ruling: the circus trainer of the ten tigers seized, has been heavily convicted!
Exploitation for shows

Thanks to the endless work by One Voice with its investigations and legal proceedings, the Beauvais Tribunal has just convicted Mario Masson as being guilty of crimes of mistreatment of animals committed by a professional and of improper operation of an establishment keeping non-domestic animals from 2019 to 2020, illegal acquisition and transfer of animals, and breaches of employment law and fraud. Finally, he is prohibited from engaging in any activity relating to animals for two years, associated with two years of ineligibility and a fine. In total, he must pay off €246,000 to various stakeholders in the case.

According to Muriel Arnal, President of One Voice:

«It is the first time in France that a circus trainer has been found guilty of mistreatment of animals with the aggravated circumstance of being a professional. It is an historic ruling. What a huge satisfaction knowing that the tigers will not return to the lorry-cage in the courtyard of the abandoned factory where they were enclosed for 24 hours every day, as our footage shows! We will continue to lead these investigations and to bring them before the legal system to highlight the horrors that circus animals live in. We had to suffer a lot of setbacks before this victory; it is all the more strong. A big thank you to all those who believed in our unfailing determination for these tigers and who have supported us in the face of adversity.»

The tribunal ruled that the tigers and equipment would be confiscated permanently and that the Tonga Terre d’Accueil — the refuge that we chose to welcome the animals — and we must in particular receive repayment of the sum spent on the ten tigers since them being seized in the name of justice in December 2020. The State and the URSSAF must also receive the sum linked in particular to the secret work that Masson was involved in.

We have known Mario Masson since 2005; then he kept two terribly mistreated elephants. The investigation to initiate the complaint to the prosecutor was one of the most risky, but it was essential: our previous complaints had been dismissed. The seizure was done in total secrecy because he bred tigers to sell the babies when they were scarcely even a few days old, and some knew and turned a blind eye. The hearing lasted more than 8 hours, and was led for us by Maitre Caroline Lanty.

Since them being seized almost two years ago, we have also offered these tigers a new life far away from the lorry-cage in which they stagnated for such a long time. Far from training and their prison guards, they have been taken over by an attentive team. They have been able to discover grass and benefit from the simple joy of running and hiding, all while making the most of the enrichment at their disposal. An enclosure is currently being built to take them to a partner sanctuary.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice