News Archive - Page 8 of 129

Authorized shooting of wolves around an unprotected herd of cattle: One Voice takes the case to court

Authorized shooting of wolves around an unprotected herd of cattle: One Voice takes the case to court
25.10.2024
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Authorized shooting of wolves around an unprotected herd of cattle: One Voice takes the case to court
Wildlife

On October 11, the Prefect of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region authorized a cattle farmer to implement simple defense shots on wolves. In the villages of Le Vernet, Méolans-Revel, Selonnet and Seyne, they are the target of rifles day and night. And this without any proof of the supposed “non-protectability” of the herd. On Tuesday November 5, at 2pm, we will be asking the Marseille Administrative Court for an emergency suspension of this totally illegal order.

In France, anything goes to kill as many wolves as possible. Like considering cattle herds “unprotectable”, knowingly making these animals easy prey, a veritable trap for the wolves themselves. The prefect of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region has aligned himself with this incoherent and deadly position of the public services, by granting a simple defense shooting authorization to a farmer in the north of the region.

A text that respects neither animals nor regulations

In his hostility to nature, has the prefect even carried out the technical and economic analysis that must be sent to the prefect coordinating the national wolf action plan before making such a decision? Has the latter issued an opinion recognizing the impossibility to protect the herd? Since the shooting authorization was granted to the beneficiary on the very day of his request, it is unlikely that the slightest action was taken… Worse still, in his decree, the prefect washes his hands of the obligation to demonstrate the so-called “non-protectability” of the cattle herds, taking it upon himself to assert that there is no way of ensuring their safety. An easy solution that goes against the rules, will not stem predation on cows and their young, and will decimate wolf families, whose bereaved members may move a few kilometers to feed on other farms no better protected.

In the Doubs region, the court has already ruled in our favor.

Last June, the Besançon administrative court sided with us, annulling a similar decree that we had challenged in concert with the Pôle Grands Prédateurs and FERUS. Once again, we call the state services to order: cows cannot be declared “unprotectable” simply because they are cows! To ensure that this truth is recognized (however absurd the reminder may be), the regulations respected and the wolves defended, we have taken legal action. We will be represented by Géo Avocats law firm at the Marseille administrative court on Tuesday November 5 at 2pm, to demand the immediate suspension of this decree.

To stop the persecution of wolves, sign our petition!

The Ministry of Ecology’s aberrant project: an emergency for the survival of great cormorants

The Ministry of Ecology’s aberrant project: an emergency for the survival of great cormorants
29.10.2024
France
The Ministry of Ecology’s aberrant project: an emergency for the survival of great cormorants
Hunting

At this very moment, citizens are being invited to have their say: in its forthcoming decree, the Ministry of Ecological Transition is setting the conditions and limits to facilitate the unlimited slaughter of these large black birds. In reality, the aim is to meet the demands of fish farming professionals, worried about their farms, without taking into account the illegality of the measure concerning this protected species. We have decided to attack.

A departmental threshold and a largely extended destruction period

Although their numbers are close to 100,000 individuals in France, the future ministerial decree envisages a ceiling of 20% of birds killed in each department.

Prefects would then hold all the cards to authorize their slaughter from the opening of the hunting season to April 30 each year, to the detriment of legislative prohibitions. This is a direct threat to the survival of adults and young birds, only 60% of which make it through their first wintering season.

These decisions would appear to be made solely by lobbies, directly benefiting their economy.

False impact of feathered targets on finned animals

There is no evidence to support the claim that the loss of halieutic “resources” is linked to catches by great cormorants: external factors are having a negative impact on their survival. Climate change, seaweed proliferation in summer, feasting by other fish eaters, water pollution and stress are all factors favoring their disappearance… Surprising, given that these individuals with their fine yellow beaks feed mainly on exotic fish!

In view of all these inconsistencies and the alternative solutions available, we are challenging the Ministry’s plan. Like One Voice, join the fight against the government’s plan to massacre great cormorants by contributing directly to the public consultation open until November 8.

Puppies wearing gassing masks on MBR farms for animal experimentation: damning images

Puppies wearing gassing masks on MBR farms for animal experimentation: damning images
30.10.2024
New York
Puppies wearing gassing masks on MBR farms for animal experimentation: damning images
Animal testing

One Voice reports on the shocking information and videos gathered by our friends of TheCampBeagle.com about the fate of puppies destined for animal experimentation at Marshall BioResources (MBR) in North Rose, New York. Unfortunately, MBR also operates in France, where it owns the Gannat (Allier) and Mézilles (Yonne) sites… One Voice is sounding the alarm and denouncing these unbearable living conditions!

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Suffering begins long before testing

Barely born, the young beagles bred by MBR already know nothing but fear, isolation and violence. Renowned for their gentle nature and loyalty, they are raised in conditions that are hard to imagine, even before they are confronted with the laboratories. Their lives, in MBR’s eyes, have no value unless they conform perfectly to the industry’s expectations. The slightest physical “imperfection” becomes a death sentence. For example, according to one whistleblower’s testimony, a puppy with different-colored eyes was killed at birth, as this made him “useless” for the customers’ requirements.

Condemned to inhale fumes and toxic substances by MBR

For these puppies, the ordeals are just beginning. Their intended function is to be used in laboratories as living test tubes. For them, suffering is not limited to the tests themselves. From their very first weeks, they are subjected to treatments that kill them little by little, inexorably. Unveiled videos show puppies forced to wear masks that force them to inhale gasses, until fatigue prevents them from struggling. These harrowing images were taken, in 2024, inside MBR’s “beagle factory” in North Rose, New York, USA. This is how this company conditions these puppies to wear all kinds of harnesses for future toxic inhalation.

In the 1970s, the investigation showing beagles forced to smoke provoked worldwide indignation. More recently, we mobilized on the occasion of what we called Diesel Gate for the macaques gassed by Volkswagen. Yet these atrocities continue today in the United States, in the shadows and the cover-up.

A daily life of fear and blood

Although three-quarters of French people remain opposed to animal experimentation, MBR dogs suffer the consequences every day. On a daily basis, the dogs are crammed into cramped cages. Forced to live in small spaces where peaceful interaction is impossible, constant proximity to other males leads to struggles for dominance. Blood frequently soils the cages, silent testimony to acts of brutality and neglect. Remains are also regularly found there, in a state of abandonment. These young dogs, deprived of any social ties or games, no longer have the desire or even the ability to interact.

Ferrets also concerned…..

Ferrets, also present on site, are confined in unsanitary cages and live in conditions that defy all decency, reminiscent of those of minks bred for fur. Cowering and huddled together, these small animals seek refuge but find none. The lack of hygiene is alarming: dirt covers the floor and mold invades the troughs. Young minks are often found lifeless, trapped in the throughs, victims of systematic neglect.

The omerta everywhere

According to our information, the American “bioresources” giant has set up a veritable cover-up system to conceal the extent of these atrocities. Cell phones are forbidden on the premises, on pain of immediate dismissal. This draconian measure is designed to prevent any damning evidence from tarnishing the company’s reputation, and to maintain the omerta surrounding its practices.

A long-term battle in France too!

These beagles are not only used locally: they are sent all over the world to numerous laboratories. In France, One Voice’s fight against MBR goes back a long way. Back in the late 1990s, under the name Talis, our association succeeded in blocking the construction of a facility in Montbeugny. We also fought against Harlan in Gannat, who owned the site at the time. More recently, we prevented the expansion of French MBR sites in the Yonne and Allier regions. Today, this investigation reveals what Marshall BioResources is capable of.

If, like three out of four French people, you are against animal experimentation, demand an end to the use of dogs in laboratories and the closure of the Mézilles dog farm.

The book on the Valberg wolf is out in bookshops!

The book on the Valberg wolf is out in bookshops!
28.10.2024
Europe
The book on the Valberg wolf is out in bookshops!
Wildlife
Press release

November 8 sees the publication in bookshops of “The Valberg Wolf”, a book-investigation by journalist Pauline Briand which, after three years’ work, tells the story of the wolf cub who was captured by the authorities in 2019, released in 2020, and who then mysteriously vanished. Thanks to our partnership with the publishing house Editions Goutte d’or, we offer you a preview of an extract from this book before its publication.

This book meticulously tells the story of how, in autumn 2019, a wolf cub appeared in the village of Valberg, at the heart of the Mercantour park. The animal mobilized local residents, the police, two ministers, hunters, breeders, activists, naturalists and scientists.

The cub was finally captured. More than 45,000 of you signed our call to ask for news of him.

After being treated, the Valberg wolf was equipped with a GPS collar before being released by the State in the greatest secrecy. In January 2020, the GPS collar was found intact, but without the animal, who had vanished into thin air. The mystery of the Valberg wolf deepens.

Journalist Pauline Briand’s rigorous and impassioned investigation begins, as she reconstructs the history of his pack and manages to get her hands on the GPS data on his collar. This book, tinged with nature writing, brings the story to life from the inside.

You can preview the first chapter by clicking here.

SAY STOP TO THE PERSECUTION OF WOLVES! SAY STOP TO THE PERSECUTION OF WOLVES! SAY STOP TO THE PERSECUTION OF WOLVES! SAY STOP TO THE PERSECUTION OF WOLVES! SAY STOP TO THE PERSECUTION OF WOLVES! SAY STOP TO THE PERSECUTION OF WOLVES! SAY STOP TO THE PERSECUTION OF WOLVES! SAY STOP TO THE PERSECUTION OF WOLVES! SAY STOP TO THE PERSECUTION OF WOLVES! SAY STOP TO THE PERSECUTION OF WOLVES!

Unlimited badger massacre in the Tarn region: hearing on October 28, 2024

Unlimited badger massacre in the Tarn region: hearing on October 28, 2024
23.10.2024
Tarn
Unlimited badger massacre in the Tarn region: hearing on October 28, 2024
Hunting

In the middle of the hunting season, in the village of Bannières, the Tarn prefecture has decided to outdo everyone else by ordering an administrative beat hunt, targeting badgers by shooting, digging up and trapping. The order is motivated by “damage” that has not even been demonstrated, and, among other irregularities, authorizes the use of an illegal trap. We demand the urgent suspension of this deadly and unlawful text at the Toulouse administrative court on Monday October 28, at 3pm.

In the Tarn region, badgers must flee from bullets from September 8, 2024 to February 28, 2025, and until January 15, 2025, they will also be hunted down in their burrows. But that wasn’t enough for the prefecture. Quick to please the hunters, it took advantage of damage to a farmer’s land to add to this massacre an administrative beat hunt lasting over a month in Bannières (81). From September 28 to November 3, badgers unfortunate enough to live on the town’s territory are being persecuted. To kill as many as possible, no limit having been set, all means are good: shooting, digging up and trapping. Above all, leave them no chance of survival.

Illegal and senseless persecution

In addition to its cruelty, the text published by the State is completely illegal. Where is the evidence of the “significant damage” allegedly caused by badgers? Not only does the decree fail to demonstrate this, it also uses it to order culling methods that contravene regulations. Digging up badgers can only be carried out by approved teams of diggers? No matter! If the lieutenant of louveterie and pests so desires, he can “enlist approved trappers” who are not normally qualified to carry out this practice. They’ll be delighted with this. As with the use of snares, traps theoretically reserved only for foxes and which horribly injure animals desperately struggling in them. The icing on the cake is that no mandatory public participation procedure was organized before these measures came into force. And this is just a sample of the irregularities we have identified.

In the face of our victories for badgers, hunters and prefectures persist: we counter-attack!

All over France, our actions against the supplementary periods of underground hunting have led to a reduction in this practice. In 2024, we saved the lives of over 4,000 badgers. A development that hunters and prefectures are fighting hand in hand, multiplying administrative beat hunts and going so far as to trample on court rulings! We won’t let them. Once again, we’re attacking the decree issued by the Tarn prefecture. On behalf of the badgers who have fallen victim to this text, we referred the matter to the Toulouse administrative court on October 8, and will be requesting its suspension as a matter of urgency at the hearing on Monday October 28.

Join us in demanding protection for badgers and a ban on digging: sign our petition!

Action on October 29 before the Aix-en-Provence court of appeal against the transfer of Wikie and Keijo

Action on October 29 before the Aix-en-Provence court of appeal against the transfer of Wikie and Keijo
23.10.2024
Alpes-Maritimes
Action on October 29 before the Aix-en-Provence court of appeal against the transfer of Wikie and Keijo
Dolphinariums

In January 2024, the legal tribunal of Grasse forbade Marineland to move the orcas before the end of the independent expert assessment we had obtained from the court of appeal of Aix-en-Provence. Marineland immediately appealed this decision. On Tuesday October 29, the magistrates will hear the trainers’ request. One Voice will represent the two orcas at the hearing. To prevent Wikie and Keijo from being transferred to another dolphinarium, we invite you to join our activists outside the court of appeal from 8.45am to 11am.

Just over a year ago, Moana passed away. A few months later, Inouk died too, leaving Wikie and Keijo alone and grieving. Since then, we have ensured that the independent expert assessment we obtained concerning the health of the two deceased orcas and the state of Marineland’s facilities will continue. The park has always opposed this assessment, despite the extremely worrying situation of the animals it holds. When the administrative court in Grasse forbade it to move them before the independent experts had completed their work, the dolphinarium appealed. Its objective is clear: to get rid of the orcas as quickly as possible.

Wikie and Keijo must not be sent to other places of death!

If the Aix-en-Provence court of appeal were to rule in Marineland’s favor, the two survivors would be sent without further delay to even smaller tanks than those in which they have been held since birth. Whether transferred to Japan or Loro Parque in Tenerife, mother and son would be separated from each other, permanently shattering their family and the little psychic equilibrium they have left. In either case, Wikie would once again be exploited for reproduction, unwillingly giving birth to new offspring who would in turn suffer from captivity for the rest of their lives. Provided they manage to survive… If the November 2021 law has, as it boasts, succeeded in protecting the smallest animal, it has in any case consciously forgotten to concern itself with the orcas.

They need urgent care…..

For years, we have been sounding the alarm about Moana and Inouk. Their state of health was critical, and it was vital that a competent team should intervene, as we have repeatedly stated, backed up by expert reports. The dolphinarium let the two orcas die, and today, when we warn that Wikie and Keijo are in no condition to be transported and urgently need appropriate care, our demands are once again brushed aside? We will not allow the two survivors to be sacrificed on the altar of profit!

….. before they can join a sanctuary

If they are able to recover, we are prepared to offer them a dignified retirement in a sanctuary off the coast of Nova Scotia. This project, which we have been working on with the Whale Sanctuary Project for some time, is the only viable one for Wikie and Keijo. The authors of the report commissioned by the Ministry of Ecology and published last September, studied our proposal and concluded that it should be explored. We’re counting on it… It’s about time!

On Tuesday October 29, from 8.45am to 11am, join us in front of the court of appeal in Aix-en-Provence to refuse to allow Marineland to send Wikie and Keijo to foreign tanks! And sign our petition for a sanctuary!

Samba in Noisy-le-Grand: what are the authorities waiting for to save her?

Samba in Noisy-le-Grand: what are the authorities waiting for to save her?
23.10.2024
Seine-Saint-Denis
Samba in Noisy-le-Grand: what are the authorities waiting for to save her?
Circuses

The Cirque d’Europe, which has been exploiting Samba for over twenty years now, is currently stationed in the town of Noisy-le-Grand. The elephant’s condition is more worrying than ever. Once again, we are lodging a complaint and demanding that she be seized and placed in a sanctuary.

After a brief stint in the Seine-et-Marne region, Samba is now in the Seine-Saint-Denis region, as and when the Cirque d’Europe moves. While we were concerned about her excess weight a year and a half ago, we are now dismayed by her emaciation. With her back hollowed out and hidden between two trailers in a Noisy-le-Grand parking lot, Samba appears gaunt. Her condition has seriously deteriorated since our last complaint in June.

Two decades of fighting

A place awaits her in a sanctuary. We’re ready to take care of all the logistics of her transfer, her medical care, and to provide her with all the attention she’ll need for the rest of her life, at our own expense. What are the authorities doing to get her out of there? Our government has announced the end of wild animals’ presence in traveling circuses in 2028. Are they waiting for the animals to die, or for them to be sent abroad so they don’t have to worry about their fate when the ban comes into force? Nothing is being done to put an end to their ordeal, and even reproduction, despite the ban, continues.

The Mayor of Noisy-le-Grand is mobilizing within her capacity. We thank her for this and assure her of our support in the procedures she has initiated.

We are lodging a new complaint, this time with the public prosecutor of the Bobigny judicial court, and requesting Samba’s immediate seizure. We can organize her transfer as soon as today, at no cost to the State. Sign our petition demanding Samba’s placement in a sanctuary.

Sign for Samba’s placement in a sanctuary. Sign for Samba’s placement in a sanctuary. Sign for Samba’s placement in a sanctuary. Sign for Samba’s placement in a sanctuary. Sign for Samba’s placement in a sanctuary. Sign for Samba’s placement in a sanctuary. Sign for Samba’s placement in a sanctuary. Sign for Samba’s placement in a sanctuary. Sign for Samba’s placement in a sanctuary. Sign for Samba’s placement in a sanctuary.

For Guinea, a young sow killed in the Indre region during a hunting party, we are lodging a complaint.

For Guinea, a young sow killed in the Indre region during a hunting party, we are lodging a complaint.
18.10.2024
Indre
For Guinea, a young sow killed in the Indre region during a hunting party, we are lodging a complaint.
Hunting

On Monday October 14, a two-year-old sow disappeared in a small village in the Indre region, during an ongoing hunting party. After an intense search, the sow’s family had to fight to finally find out that Guinea had died. Her body, stabbed with a knife, has since vanished into thin air… And everything is being done to keep the matter quiet. We denounce this unbearable omerta in favor of hunters who believe they can do whatever they like, and are lodging a complaint on Guinea’s behalf.

On her return from a walk, Guinea should have spent the evening peacefully by the side of the woman who has lovingly raised her since she was little. But last Monday, the young sow followed in the footsteps of a family friend who went for a run. The jogger, who didn’t realize she was being followed, came across a group of hunters gathered in a field. Later, as she retraced her steps, she noticed the mayor’s presence, without suspecting anything…

Code of silence and impunity in hunting areas

By the end of the day, Guinea was missing. Her family was extremely worried, especially as they were often subjected to insults and threats from hunters against their animals. Had they carried out their plan? While there was still hope, her family moved heaven and earth to find Guinea. Only the next day did they discover that the councilor had called the police to report the death of the sow, stabbed to death on her property the day before.

Why hadn’t Guinea’s family, devastated by the news, been notified directly, in this village of around a hundred inhabitants where everyone knew that the little sow lived with them? What happened to her remains? Where death struck her, only tire marks remained on the ground. Was her body taken away to cover up the facts? When her family asked the mayor for explanations, they were given no information, except for a photo of Guinea’s body… which they were forbidden to distribute. And when they filed a complaint at the police station, they were encouraged to give up. Above all, let the hunters slaughter in peace even our pets and keep quiet, always. And do nothing to see justice done.

Tens of millions of animals slaughtered every year

Every year, hunters decimate 45 million wild animals. And these animals are not the only ones to pay a heavy price: whether it’s dogs or cats caught in traps, like Tigrou who died just last September, Cooper, Snooky and Red Collar, or horses who have fallen victim to bullets, like Memphis, Olympe and Connemara, no one is safe. And we’re to believe that trigger-happy enthusiasts have nothing to do with it, and certainly don’t question their deadly “hobby”, so often supported by the prefectures? Move along, there’s nothing to see?

We refuse to turn a blind eye, and we won’t be quiet! On Guinea’s behalf, we are filing a complaint alongside her family and demanding answers. And on behalf of all the other victims of hunting, and because 89% of French people believe that this activity poses safety problems (Ipsos/One Voice poll, 2023), sign our petition for a radical reform of hunting!

Traditional hunting: prefects always quick to flatter hunters at the expense of birds.

Traditional hunting: prefects always quick to flatter hunters at the expense of birds.
21.10.2024
Traditional hunting: prefects always quick to flatter hunters at the expense of birds.
Hunting

While One Voice and the LPO had obtained a ban on traditional hunting with “matoles” (cages) and “pantes” (nets), the State is finding new strategies to allow hunters to continue their despicable hobby: prefectoral decrees that authorize the capture of Eurasian skylarks “for scientific purposes” for more than a month. One Voice is taking the matter to court to request their urgent suspension and annulment.

On May 6, 2024, we achieved a decisive victory for the protection of Eurasian skylarks: the Council of State annulled the decrees of October 4, 2022 authorizing the capture of these birds with archaic and cruel devices, such as matoles and pantes, in several departments of south-west France. This decision marked the definitive end of traditional hunting, after the courts had repeatedly ruled in our favor. But the State spares no effort to satisfy the hunters. Under the guise of “scientific experimentation” – as if hunting had anything to do with science, the moon or green cheese – the prefects of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Landes regions have taken the decision to reauthorize these means of trapping larks in our countryside.

Hunting federations, these scientific organizations…..

No one is fooled: these “experiments” are nothing more than a maneuver to discreetly reintroduce practices that had been formally banned by the courts. And which, by a strange coincidence, will be carried out… by the hunters themselves. Who said “scientific neutrality”? The aim is obvious: to make people believe that these procedures are justified, so as to revive their use under the guise of pseudo-scientific legitimacy.

All this is orchestrated by the departmental hunting federations, whose objectivity is, of course, totally questionable. In the Pyrénées-Atlantiques region, these decrees authorize the capture of almost 2,000 Eurasian skylarks. In the Landes region, 16,000 birds will suffer the same fate, caught in nets and cages. Outrageous cynicism!

We already know the results that this “research” will produce: it will attempt to demonstrate that pantes and matoles are selective tools, when we know full well that these traps do not differentiate between the species captured. This means that not only Eurasian skylarks will be endangered, but also other birds, protected or not, collateral victims of these devices. Many of them risk being injured or even killed in accidental captures, an unacceptable risk for biodiversity. And all will suffer fear, panic and intense stress.

These prefectoral decrees are not only dangerous for wildlife, they are also illegal. Indeed, they were issued without any public consultation, thus depriving citizens and animal protection associations of the opportunity to react and make their voices heard.

We are determined not to let “traditional” hunting make a comeback. That’s why we’re taking our case to the administrative court, calling for the immediate suspension and annulment of these decrees.

The fight against these traps is far from over. We will continue to defend animals and to make the voice of the 83% of French people who want to see an end to these practices, which should be a thing of the past (Ipsos/One Voice 2022 poll), heard. We need your support: sign our petition for a radical reform of hunting and to prevent the return of these very cruel methods!

Two One Voice victories for shimmering mountain birds, three hearings to come

Two One Voice victories for shimmering mountain birds, three hearings to come
07.10.2024
Two One Voice victories for shimmering mountain birds, three hearings to come
Hunting

Since this autumn, grey partridges, rock partridges, black grouse, hazel grouse and rock ptarmigans have been slaughtered. While the threat of their disappearance looms over these emblematic birds of the French mountains, we have learned of two victories for their preservation in the Haute-Savoie and the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence regions! Next hearings at the Council of State are this Friday, October 18 at 10:30 a.m., and on October 22 at 9:30 a.m. at the Nice court for the PACA region, and at 2:30 p.m. at the Montpellier court for the Pyrenees region.

In Provence, the judge in Marseilles recognized that this practice was detrimental to the conservation of 36 rock and “rochassière” partridges and 24 black grouse. Indeed, it cannot justify the extinction of animals who are on the IUCN red list. Similarly, in the Haute-Savoie region, the 177 black grouse and 6 rock partridges targeted will be able to live out this season in peace, since we have forced the federation to lay down its weapons. Rock ptarmigans, however, will not enjoy the same happy fate, as they can be killed for the sole pleasure of the false friends of biodiversity.

Hopes differ in the Occitanie region… While the detonations continue to be heard against our precious gallinaceans, the judges in Toulouse and Pau have rejected our appeal… Beyond the suffering and death inflicted on these birds, this means further reducing their numbers, which have already been declining for several years, due to climate change, intensive pastoralism and the regression of open environments in our massifs. In addition, in support of our partner the Comité écologique ariégeois, which won a victory for the rock ptarmigans that was contested by the hunters, we will be going to the Council of State this Friday at 10:30am!

The fight goes on this October 18 at the Council of State, then on October 22 at the Nice court at 9:30 am with FNE PACA and LPO PACA against the Alpes-Maritimes prefecture’s decree, and at the Montpellier court at 2:30 pm against the Pyrenees prefecture’s decision.