News Archive - Page 68 of 140

Help monkeys who are being trapped in Mauritius now

Help monkeys who are being trapped in Mauritius now
17.03.2022
Mauritius
Help monkeys who are being trapped in Mauritius now
Animal testing

Action for Primates and One Voice have been alerted by concerned residents to the trapping of monkeys taking place now in Vallee Pitot, located in the region of Port Louis in Mauritius. Video footage shows a large gang cage into which unsuspecting monkeys are lured by food and then trapped. Please speak out for these monkeys in Mauritius

These monkeys, in distress to the point that we can hear them howling, are taken out of the cage to be enclosed in small transport carriers, then loaded into the back of a lorry and taken away. We suspect that one of the many primate businesses in Mauritius exporting monkeys for research and toxicity testing (poisoning) is at the root of this.

The capture of wild monkeys is a universally condemned practice due to the cruelty of it, the suffering that it causes to the animals, and the fact that they are torn from their natural habitat as well as their families and social groups. It is likely that the monkeys captured in Mauritius will be sold to laboratories abroad, or used for breeding in farms for the sale of the babies. Mauritius, who exported more than 14,000 long-tailed macaques in 2021, is the main provider of monkeys for laboratories in America and Europe.

The capture look place on public land and Mr Seenath Abedeen, a Port-Louis resident who filmed a series of videos, also reported his concerns to the local police. The monkeys are seeing their natural habitat being invaded more and more by humankind, and yet they are the ones that pay the biggest price for this disruption, almost always with their life.

Act with us to defend these monkeys from the Mauritian authorities.

Send an email to demand an end to these captures and for the protection of these animals everywhere on the island (you can download a template here):

Mr Mahfooz Moussa Cadersaib, Port-Louis Mayor: mpl.mayor@intnet.mu
The Port-Louis Municipal Council: portlouiscity@municipalcouncil.org
The Animal Welfare Unit managed by the Ministry of Agro Industry: animalwelfaredev@govmu.org

You can also leave a comment on the Port-Louis Municipal Council site: http://www.mccpl.mu/contacts.h…

Non-human primates are our closest existing biological relatives. Mauritian monkeys must be protected and treated with compassion, and not killed or captured to be exploited in laboratories or for any other reason. Action for Primates and One Voice are calling for all Mauritian communities to reflect on the terrible suffering inflicted on these intelligent, social, sensitive animals, and to speak out to help put an end to their barbaric exploitation.

Long-tailed macaques are currently the most used species of primate for toxicity testing, which involves deliberately poisoning the animals in order to determine the amount of chemical product or medication necessary to cause serious injury or death. To do this, they are forcibly held down, after which a test substance is administered by injection, drip, or feeding tube in increasing amounts to measure the effects of the poisoning. The macaques feel intense suffering.

If you live in Mauritius and you are aware of wild captive monkeys that are being taken or used as ‘companion animals’, do not hesitate to contact us at info@one-voice.fr and info@actionforprimates.org

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

A legal victory for badgers in Saône-et-Loire. Our fight continues!

A legal victory for badgers in Saône-et-Loire. Our fight continues!
17.03.2022
A legal victory for badgers in Saône-et-Loire. Our fight continues!
Wildlife

The Dijon Administrative Court has just, on 15 March, annulled the decree of 11 May 2020 in which the Saône-et-Loire Prefect had decided on opening an additional period for underground badger hunting with hounds from 15 May to 14 September 2020. The digging out of between 600 and 900 badgers who were massacred two years ago was therefore illegal! It is a victory, indisputably on a legal level, but also for the animals; these diggers got their fill of adrenaline and blood… as always when there is no emergency suspension. This decision strengthens our motivation to continue the fight.

The Dijon Administrative Tribunal treated the plea differently to the League for the Protection of Birds [Ligue pour la protection des oiseaux], the Saône-et-Loire Departmental Committee for the Protection of Nature [Comité départemental de protection de la nature] and us for the same decision. The Departmental Federation of Hunters [Fédération départementale des chasseurs] faced us, hand in hand with the department’s prefecture.

A ban on killing young approved!

The stupidity of the decree had been decided on for two reasons: an inadequate cover note and therefore a decree issued under an irregular procedure, but equally — and this is the first time that this has happened to our knowledge — because the tribunal took our argument that the ‘young’ should not be ‘destroyed’ into account. Perhaps because the Prefect himself admitted that the young had been ‘taken’ in previous years… but the judge also took into account scientific studies that we provided which confirm that the young are present in the setts well after 15 May. He also (almost) admitted that the term ‘young’ does not only refer to un-weaned young, but also to dependent minors (weaned but not self-sufficient). A truly great step forward.

Other decrees against badgers are in the hands of several prefects…

Alongside this long-term fight, we continue to defend badgers in other departments. In fact, the decrees increase every year in the spring, and we refuse to leave the hunters to lay down their laws with total impunity. Digging out is absolutely horrific (as we showed suitably in our infiltration investigation), as it destroys forests and massacres totally harmless animals, all which have their place in the ecosystem and representing richness in biodiversity.

In the last few weeks, we have therefore taken part in many public consultations, particularly to oppose the decrees proposed by Loiret (now closed to the public) and by Haute-Vienne (which expires on 27 March), planning to authorise an additional period of underground badger hunting with hounds from 15 May 2022. You too can take part.

And equally for Saône-et-Loire, where the Prefect did not even wait for the outcome of the appeal to submit a new decree proposal absolutely identical to this one, in which it is written that 36% of animals dug out are badgers. The consultation is still underway (until 24 March). We have a list of arguments at your disposition, but be careful to always rephrase them in your own words!

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Réunion: a total emergency for tenrecs

Réunion: a total emergency for tenrecs
17.03.2022
Réunion: a total emergency for tenrecs
Wildlife

Hunted down into the depths of their nests, in accordance with the practice of underground hunting with hounds, tenrecs, small mammals that are in decline, should not be hunted after 15 January. But the Réunion Prefect does not care about the law, nor about the breeding season. We have filed emergency interim proceedings for an annulment. The hearing will take place on 22 March at the Saint-Denis Administrative Tribunal.

A small mammal with a pointed snout, the tenrec resembles a European hedgehog and rolls up into a ball when it is scared. This timid animal likes to hide under a pile of leaves, near large protective trees. On Réunion island, they are sadly hunted without compassion. In 2019 – following a study carried out with the Departmental Federation of Hunters [Fédération départementale des chasseurs] – an article published by the French Office for Biodiversity also confirmed that while 100,000 tenrecs are killed by hunters every year, 150,000 are massacred by poachers and sold on the black market. The result: the tenrec is in decline today. And if authorities were to endeavour to protect them, this would not be the case. The conclusions of the study, however, could not be clearer: baby tenrecs are born between November and January, but births can happen up until the end of March or beginning of April. Yet, the Réunion Prefect has just issued a criminal decree, in which he defines the hunting season for tenrecs as being from 16 February to 13 April 2022. This totally disregards the reproduction cycles of this animal already in the process of disappearing.

Dug out and captured alive

So even if the Prefect does not care about preserving biodiversity, he is also acting illegally. Driven out with the help of dogs, the tenrecs are dug out and captured alive, using the cruel method of underground hunting with hounds. According to the Environmental Code, this practice is forbidden from 15 January. Although no one is supposed to ignore the law, even less so a representative of the rule of law, the Prefect himself thinks he’s above it.

Urgent legal action

Facing such contempt from the authorities with regard to respecting wild animals, we have filed a submission for the annulment of the Réunion Prefect’s decree. The hearing will take place on 22 March at the Saint-Denis Administrative Tribunal. For tenrecs, this is urgent.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

We have won for the dogs who are victims of mistreatment in clubs!

We have won for the dogs who are victims of mistreatment in clubs!
16.03.2022
We have won for the dogs who are victims of mistreatment in clubs!
Domestic animals

Last Valentine’s Day, we didn’t have a date with a lover but with several dog trainers (eighteen in total) believing that they had been personally targeted by our investigation against mistreatment suffered by dogs in canine clubs, in particular for bite training. The Grenoble Court was very clear: no one had been named, all faces had been blurred and we had only reported on the practices that we had documented, all while highlighting non-violent practices. A great victory, supported by hundreds of other dog trainers, seven years after our investigators first went to the clubs.

In March 2016, we published a report entitled “Group abuse sessions — an unpublished investigation of dog training clubs by One Voice”, followed in September 2017 by a new article entitled “Investigation: the violent training of defence dogs.”

First victory in 2020

On 16 March 2018, a dog trainer trade union and thirty-three dog clubs, dog trainers, and dog education and training centres summoned us to the Valence High Court. They insisted that the Association was leading a disparaging campaign on the Internet against dog clubs and trainers, in particular requesting payment of five thousand euros for each of the complainants, so 170,000 euros in total for One Voice! On 14 January 2020, the court dismissed all of their claims and ordered them to pay the Association the sum of 2000 euros.

On appeal, the Court asked the complainants: “But… what are you concerned about exactly?!”

The dog trainer trade union and seventeen other unsuccessful applicants out of the original thirty-four appealed on 8 April 2020 and were then asking us for 91,800 euros. Madness.

The trainers were arguing that accusing a whole sector of professional dog trainers of mistreatment and violence would constitute disparagement which would have the effect of bringing discredit to their entire line of business, and that accusing all clubs and canine professionals of violence against animals would constitute the dissemination of misleading and malicious information. Except…

We defended ourselves, in particular by affirming that we were there to inform the public on a subject of general interest, and that we relied on a sufficient factual basis, in this case: the investigation reports and the reports received. Our work was covered by freedom of expression and our target was solely the practices and methods used. We had also promoted dog-friendly practices, and to top it all off, none of the complainants had been a victim of disparagement…

A decision on 15 March 2022, which confirmed the precedent and increased our costs

The Court delivered a concrete assessment of the incriminated passages to reject the requests of the trainers one by one!

«It appears from reading the report and the article from 20 September 2017, and more specifically the seven passages identified by the petitioners in their conclusions, that the information campaign by the One Voice Association does not aim to discredit the entirety of the dog training profession, but to denounce the training methods that it believes to be violent and to inform the public on the consequences that they may have on the animals[…]»«The report, which denounces violence “by certain trainers” and by “certain clubs”, reiterates a factual basis supported by videos which is not challenged by the petitioners[…]»«It responds to the objective of informing the public and not to the desire to cause damage via an on-site investigation, during which things that the Association considered to be acts of mistreatment or even torture were identified in canine clubs: shouting, hitting, and physical and psychological aggression[…]»«The One Voice Association has not abused their right to freedom of expression.»

The Court had also ordered the trainers to pay 4000 euros to the Association in accordance with their legal fees, to which the costs of 1500 euros for the first-instance lawyer were added.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

New investigation at Parc Saint Léger where cats are visible from the road

New investigation at Parc Saint Léger where cats are visible from the road
16.03.2022
New investigation at Parc Saint Léger where cats are visible from the road
Exploitation for shows

Following our complaint in August 2021 for the lemurs and big cats at Parc Saint Léger, we went back there at the end of February 2022. Indeed, the advert in the press putting the park up for sale and the winter closure were concerning to us when it came to the state of the animals.

Our investigators knew the place well. They have been there regularly since Spring 2019 when we published our first images of Parc Saint Léger and of Parc Saint Paul where we saw tigers being passed from one person to another for photos. Our complaint against Kid Bauer, the boss and big cat trainer, is incidentally still ongoing, and still current. Since, the investigations have come one after another in the area: Baby, owned by Gilbert Bauer, Kid’s brother, and the ten tigers in a lorry, belonging to Mario Masson, who had once had hired his services and tigers out (if not more) to Parc Saint Paul…

When they arrived there, our investigators immediately saw the tigers and lions from the road, pacing up and down in the lorry-cage; the foliage was sparse in winter.

It was impossible for them to approach the animals this time however, for obvious reasons. The park was closed to the public and with the family of circus performers having settled their circus there and having lived there for eight years, the circumstances were not the best for a ‘close-up’ investigation.

But with a bit of distance, it is still possible to see things and, in a twist of fate, this allows an even better understanding of reality. The establishment, previously called ‘Parc des Félins’ [Big Cat Park], is situated on the edge of a roundabout, where the secondary road leads to the entrance of the main road that links Beauvais with Rouen. Trucks and cars drive quickly along here. Day and night, the lions, tigers, panthers, tortoise, lemurs and other farm animals are therefore submitted to a noise level that is far from negligible, as well as to the traffic pollution. This is a far from rural environment.

The lionesses, the white lion, as well as the tigers are closed in the lorry-cage almost all day and pace up and down (‘pace’ is not only a turn of phrase here: they can only take three paces before bumping into a fence again) …

The circuses, whether travelling or settled, are hell for the animals who are locked up in them. They are synonymous with captivity, boredom, training, serious injuries, illnesses, separation of babies from their mothers, absence of choice, dependency, and a lack of privacy. But also very often — and confirmation of this is due to the experience of our proceedings — with irregularities regarding regulations, undeclared work, trafficking…

Settled circuses are not affected by the law that has just been passed, a godsend for many trainers who will settle. For the others, the implementing decree has still not been published… and reproduction will still be permitted for several more years yet (and will fuel the trafficking that is already happening), in the knowledge that it will suffice for the animals to remain at the mercy of the trainers who will later settle or leave to go abroad…

We are considering sending a new complaint to supplement the one that is already ongoing, with regard to these new images, where one of the lionesses is being hit with an iron bar by a member of staff.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Victory: a lion taken away from a trainer from the Nouveau Cirque Triomphe

Victory: a lion taken away from a trainer from the Nouveau Cirque Triomphe
14.03.2022
Victory: a lion taken away from a trainer from the Nouveau Cirque Triomphe
Exploitation for shows

A three-year-old lion named Tarzan has been seized from Joseph Gougeon at the Nouveau Cirque Triomphe! A great victory for our team who have been working hard for years to save the big cats from the Gougeon’s grasp; this family of circus trainers are sadly well-known because Jon had been seized from one of them, and because a lion that died there had the same identification number as him…

Photo: The lion seized from the Nouveau Cirque Triomphe in the circus’ lorry-cage in Jons, October 2021.

Our belligerence rewarded

The overall pressure that we have implemented on the Nouveau Cirque Triomphe and the prefectures who the animals have depended on for months has ended up paying off. A three-year-old lion has just been taken away from Joseph Gougeon by the authorities due to his lack of a licence (and for good reason: it had been taken off him in 2017 and since, during checks, formal notices have been issued one after the other because there is not always a capable person present). Our proceedings, together with the publication of our investigations online and in the press, are not for nothing.
The young lion will not be a victim of mistreatment… Considering the photo in the newspaper and lack of response from the circus community, we can legitimately doubt it.

But not all is won: we are still looking for where the three remaining lionesses are. Incidentally, going back a little in our work, if all the lions at the Nouveau Cirque Triomphe had been entrusted to us back in 2019 when the authorities had rightly stated that Joseph Gougeon was keeping them without authorisation to open and in the absence of a capable person, we wouldn’t be here!

To be precise (as happened in other cases, for Lechmee or Micha for example), it is not in the direct context of one of our complaints that the removal happened. But the substantive work of the Association cannot be denied, and the result is on point!

Gougeon and his consorts, masters at sleight-of-hand games

For years now, we have investigated the Nouveau Cirque Triomphe, a circus on the outskirts of Lyon, and more widely the other different circuses belonging to the Gougeon family. Among the family circuses are the Cirque Italiano (see our petition to save the big cats that they are keeping) and the Cirque de Paris (Jon and his four companions seized by Steve Gougeon were part of it)… This investigation has led us to the Puces de Saint Ouen, to a taxidermist’s shop, against a backdrop of trafficking wildlife products.

The family of circus performers is used to these arrangements, to not talking about their scheming. About the identities of the lions, for example. The logbook is rarely up-to-date and is often missing, including during trials… so, the authorities discovered during their inspections that, at the Gougeon’s, the lions that come, selectively, from another circus in the family, are already dead, or might even have been held for months…

The Nouveau Cirque Triomphe has as many proceedings as they do scandals

We have an administrative proceeding ongoing in Lyon against the Rhône Prefecture which is responsible for wild animals in its territory, and on which the animals kept by the Nouveau Cirque Triomphe depend.

In terms of criminal proceedings (against the circus), we filed a complaint before the Lyon Prosecutor on 16 June 2021, to which three additional complaints were added over time, including one concerning the taxidermy of a deceased lion with the same identification number as Jon, at the time living his best life in our partner shelter.

Then we learnt that the four (the lion and three lionesses) would have been sold by Gougeon to Guy Mordon, another circus trainer registered in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. We therefore filed a complaint against him before the Grenoble Prosecutor on 23 February, because his licence (a way in to keep and train wild animals) did not authorise him to keep as many big cats, especially since he had an excess of them before even receiving those from his friend… an operation that was however authorised and even supervised by the Rhône Prefecture! However, on Friday (three days before writing and publishing this article), we have just contacted the Grenoble Prosecutor again regarding the Mordon case… a coincidence that questions the goings-on that collide so much.

Lastly, recently alerted to the return of these lions to the Nouveau Cirque Triomphe, we have filed a new complaint (the latest to date) in Lyon…

We are therefore writing today to the Director of the Rhône DDPP (Prefecture), so that she can tell us where we can find the three remaining lions, since they are no longer (were they really there at all?) with Guy Mordon. The mystery remains a mystery and this is not really reassuring.

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

The constant persecution of monkeys in Mauritius

The constant persecution of monkeys in Mauritius
11.03.2022
The constant persecution of monkeys in Mauritius
Animal testing

Action for Primates and One Voice have been alerted to the trapping of long-tailed macaques taking place in Mauritius. Deep in the forest near Tamarind Falls, one of them was discovered in great distress by a walker. It was caught in a trap. Worried about its fate, the walker filmed it before helping. This macaque has therefore been released, free to return to its family and social group. An exception.

A tragedy

Others do not get this chance. In Mauritius, wild monkeys are not protected. They are trapped for many reasons, mostly either to be eaten, kept as ‘companion animals’, exported directly to laboratories or, after having been used for breeding, their babies are taken by companies exporting monkeys, or lastly, simply killed because they are considered pests.

Many people are unaware that in Mauritius, monkeys can be captured to be sold as ‘companion animals’ or to be served as food. Bushmeat — such as the flesh of long-tailed macaques that have been captured and slaughtered — can indeed be found for sale on the island.

Trapping: a dreadful and barbaric process

In 2021, Biosphere Trading, one of the companies exporting monkeys, obtained authorisation from the government to increase their facilities and to capture up to 1000 monkeys for reproduction. According to a report at the time, Biosphere intended to provide landowners and operators with traps to capture monkeys and then offer to buy selected individuals. The business did not indicate what was in store for the remaining individuals, for the ‘undesirables’…

Biosphere Trading actually placed a premium on monkeys’ heads. These macaques had been torn from their families and natural habitat to be exported to laboratories or imprisoned for years in concrete enclosures for breeding purposes; the infants were continually torn from their mothers to then be exported to laboratories.

Biosphere Trading, a company at the centre of capturing for animal experimentation in the Western world

We know that the majority of long-tailed macaques are used in testing to estimate the toxicity of medications and chemical products. In these ‘poisoning’ tests, the monkeys are given a substance by injection or by force-feeding to see the harmful effects of the materials. In 2021, there was a strong increase (14,640) in the number of long-tailed macaques exported from Mauritius for research and toxicity testing; this figure represents a growth of more than 35% of those sent abroad in 2020 (10,827). Last year, Members of the European Parliament also put our questions to the European Commission for these macaques.

Treating sentient and intelligent beings in this way is abhorrent. The trapping of wild monkeys is a universally condemned practice due to the cruelty and suffering caused by it and the removal of individuals from their natural habitat and their family and social groups.

You too can do something to change this!

Join Action for Primates and One Voice in defending monkeys in Mauritius. We must put an end to the cruel and horrendous treatment of wild long-tailed macaques.

Send an email to the following people to demand that they put a stop to the trapping of wild monkeys and introduce a law to protect them (you can find an example email here):

The Animal Welfare Unit managed by the Ministry of Agro Industry: animalwelfaredev@govmu.org.
Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Mauritian Prime Minister: privateoffice@govmu.org
Write to the Mauritian Ambassador in your country: https://www.embassy-worldwide….

If you live in Mauritius and you are aware of wild captive monkeys that are being eaten or used as ‘companion animals’, contact us at: info@actionforprimates.org and info@one-voice.fr

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

Nine years after EU ban on selling cosmetics products tested on animals, they will once again be dying in the name of beauty

Nine years after EU ban on selling cosmetics products tested on animals, they will once again be dying in the name of beauty
11.03.2022
Nine years after EU ban on selling cosmetics products tested on animals, they will once again be dying in the name of beauty

On 11 March, Cruelty Free Europe (for which One Voice is the French representative), Eurogroup for Animals, and GAIA, all Animal Protection NGOs, will not be happily celebrating the ninth anniversary of the European law preventing the sale of all cosmetics products tested on animals, as chemical products rules look set to render European laws meaningless.

Yesterday, on 10 March 2022, the associations held a vigil for the cosmetic animal testing bans near the European Commission headquarters and the Council in Brussels. The French street artist Ckeja joined them and painted live throughout the event.Despite huge public support for the bans [1], cruel animal tests are now being required by European authorities, including on ingredients used solely in cosmetics. Proposals to extend the scope of chemical safety legislation under the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability look set to massively increase the amount of regulatory animal testing taking place in Europe, including tests for cosmetics’ ingredients, namely make-up, shampoo, moisturiser, soap, perfume and toothpaste.A study carried out in 2021 by the European Centre for Alternatives to Animal Testing found that, based on the data in the EU’s chemicals database, 63 chemical safety assessment dossiers had used the results of new animal testing for cosmetics risk assessment, with this number looking set to increase as the European Chemicals Agency carries out more reviews. This is testing that has taken place since the bans [2] came into place.

« Europe’s leaders often trumpet how brilliant the EU’s cosmetics animal testing bans are – and how they were ground-breaking and a model for the world. However, we know that more and more animal testing is being required by regulators for ingredients in cosmetics, against the wishes of European consumers and cosmetics brands. But we can all stand up and say that we want our bans back and we want them strengthened. How? By signing the Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics European Citizens’ Initiative at www.savecrueltyfree.eu. We have the power! » Kerry Postlewhite Director of Public Affairs of Cruelty Free Europe « Non-animal approaches to ensure the safety of cosmetics and other consumer products have been routinely used in the EU for decades. There is no reason to test ingredients on animals when advanced non-animal assessment strategies are available and offer reliable alternatives to animal testing. With this ECI, we call on the European Commission to commit to actions that can ensure the protection of human health and the environment by managing chemicals without the use of animals, and to invest in human-based, non-animal approaches for regulatory decision-making. » Reineke Hameleers CEO of Eurogroup for Animals « Millions of animals suffer in Europe in laboratories. For nine years, we have seen how safe and how possible it is to buy and use cosmetics products that are not tested on animals. Other methods exist to guarantee their safety and effectiveness. History and progress go in the direction of genuinely stopping, or certainly progressing in, animal experimentation, and this must begin as soon as possible. It is important to sign the ECI to ensure that we do not take a step backwards. There is no more time to lose for animals in laboratories. » Muriel Arnal President of One Voice Sign the ECI to put an end to animal testing Notes: [1] 74% of adults in EU Member States agree that animal testing for cosmetic products and their ingredients is unacceptable in all circumstances. Savanta ComRes survey for Cruelty Free Europe, July 2020[2] As well as the 2013 ban on the sale of all cosmetics products tested on animals, the EU had previously banned the testing of cosmetics products on animals in 2004, and the testing of cosmetics ingredients on animals in 2009ECI Cruelty Free Cosmetics Translated from the French by Joely Justice

One Voice’s national actions in March are calling for respect for wolves

One Voice’s national actions in March are calling for respect for wolves
10.03.2022
One Voice’s national actions in March are calling for respect for wolves
Wildlife

After having been exterminated for centuries, wolves have come back to France but are struggling to surpass the vital threshold of 500 individuals. The State organises the slaughter of more than one hundred of them each year. One Voice has submitted a plea to the State Council every year to protect them. On Saturday 12 March (or Sunday 13 and Saturday 19 March for some events), in eighteen departments (see below), activists from the Association are raising public awareness of these united and sentient beings that are essential for our ecosystems.

Despite help from the State that compensates them, hunters and farmers pursue wolves even though their species is legally protected. Groups of armed poachers are even created to kill them. Lately, there is even an agricultural union that has called in two departments to massacre wolves. And each year, bodies are found. Last September, a hanged wolf was exhibited in front of a town hall… The Ministry for the Ecological Transition, under the ‘Wolf Plan’ framework, sets quotas for growing slaughterhouses year after year. Even this year, one in five wolves will be slaughtered, which is tragic for the individuals concerned, for the state of the packs in France, and ultimately constitutes a blow to the international regulations on biodiversity.

Unable to accept cohabiting with wild canines, farmers and hunters put pressure on the authorities to be able to massacre wolves. Why? They do not see them as predators of their own prey. And they only perceive nature and its inhabitants through the prism of the profit that they can make from it in the short term, instead of anticipating the future.

However, wolves are an integral part of our country’s biodiversity. They participate in its preservation as well as in that of our land and all have their place by our side. We must re-learn to tolerate these extremely intelligent, sentient and wise beings who deserve our respect. They have so much to teach us, namely on solidarity which is essential to them.

We refuse to have the rules dictated to our leaders by those few citizens who are hostile to the natural world. We demand that our leaders stop making regular breaches of international regulations for endangered species and definitively prohibit new culling.
Year after year, One Voice attacks the State Council on the decrees allowing the slaughter of more wolves. But even when the Association obtained the annulment of the decree and therefore the illegality of the shootings a posteriori, as the State Council decided again last year, wolves are dead and they only have themselves to blame. One Voice is fighting for them, for their existence, for the preservation of their habitat, for the restoration of their reputation. The petition launched by the Association has already gained over 69,000 signatures.

Our events are subject to change up until the last minute, due to weather or permission reasons. You can consult the event link before going. We update them live.

Department	TOWN	Facebook Event	Precise Location	Time (and date if different to 12/03)
74	Annecy	https://www.facebook.com/events/1272574779931419	65, rue Carnot	2:30pm to 4:30pm
60	Beauvais	https://www.facebook.com/events/507313900966194	15, rue Carnot	3:30pm to 5:00pm
33	Bordeaux	https://www.facebook.com/events/975192419791220	Place de la Comédie	1:30pm to 4:30pm on 13 March
05	Digne-les-Bains	https://www.facebook.com/events/2765612320407324	69, Boulevard Gassendi	11:30am to 2:00pm on 13 March
14	Falaise	https://www.facebook.com/events/491746512349258	Place Belle-Croix	8:00am to 11:00am
17	La Rochelle	https://www.facebook.com/events/351115616907425	Cours des Dames	2:30pm to 4:00pm
59	Lille	https://www.facebook.com/events/509830144098084	Grand’Place	Note: postponed to another date (blocked by heavy goods vehicles)
69	Lyon	https://www.facebook.com/events/168124871878046/	Place Saint Jean	2:30pm to 4:30pm on 13 March
57	Metz	https://www.facebook.com/events/662604558524230	64, Rue Serpenoise	2:30pm to 4:00pm
34	Montpellier	https://www.facebook.com/events/1135115370584520/	Place de la Comédie, in the middle of the march on climate change.	Note: postponed to 9 April due to torrential rain
44	Nantes	https://www.facebook.com/events/203740421888550	Place Royale	3:30pm to 5:00pm
06	Nice	https://www.facebook.com/events/693750618294996	Place Garibaldi	11:30am to 1:00pm
75	Paris / Special event	https://www.facebook.com/events/203740421888550	Nation NOTE: One Voice is joining the march organised by Voix des Loups [Voice for Wolves] which will re-join the march on climate change	12:30pm to 4:30pm
76	Rouen	https://www.facebook.com/events/487818929592682	Place de la Calende	2:30pm to 4:00pm
67	Strasbourg	https://www.facebook.com/events/950394689173859	Place du Corbeau	2:00pm to 4:00pm
37	Tours	https://www.facebook.com/events/623194855413009	Place Jean Jaurès	2:30pm to 4:00pm
10	Troyes	https://www.facebook.com/events/336367331741981	71, Rue Émile Zola	3:30pm to 5:00pm on 19 March

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

SOS for Ukraine’s animals

SOS for Ukraine’s animals
10.03.2022
SOS for Ukraine’s animals
Domestic animals

Since bombs have been raining down on Ukraine, thousands of animals have been abandoned after the mass extinction of their human families, or left in shelters which have become inaccessible. Since the start of the conflict, we have been by the side of our partners, who are on the border and on site, to bring them the best help possible. Help them!

Photo: UAnimals

The media has relayed deeply moving images of Ukrainians leaving their country with their pets in their arms. Escape, yes. But not without them. Not without their best friends, fully-fledged members of the family. Unfortunately, crossing the border with a dog or cat makes exile even more difficult still. Thus, many refugees face a terrible dilemma: leave their animals behind or stay by their sides, under bomb attacks… those who made the choice to leave were heartbroken. The others stayed, risking their own lives… and many have already lost theirs.

Today, thousands of cats and dogs are roaming the streets without anyone to take care of them. And those who found themselves in shelters before the start of the war are also deprived of food and care due to logistical issues to get it to them. Volunteers are dedicating their bodies and souls to try to help them, until the ultimate sacrifice: their own existence.

We are making use of everything to take part in rescues. At the start of the conflict, we immediately got in contact with the Ukrainian association UAnimals, our partner, to see how we could help bring them the best and most effective help possible. More than anything, it is about being by their side to save lives. Join our action with them as well as with our previous partners, Otwarte Klatki in Poland, and Magyar Szőrmellenes Liga in Hungary, in order to lend a helping hand to the accessible shelters! Transporting food to all of the cats and dogs in distress is a huge challenge. Thank you.

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Translated from the French by Joely Justice