We carried out an investigation into the abuse that “hunting” dogs have suffered in the French region of the Jura. We are taking action on their behalf.

One Voice leads a nonviolent fight to defend animal rights and respect all life forms. The organization operates independently and is thus free to speak and act freely.

One Voice leads a nonviolent fight to defend animal rights and respect all life forms. The organization operates independently and is thus free to speak and act freely.

Sixteen dogs miraculously saved from the clutches of a mistreating hunter from Perigord

Sixteen dogs miraculously saved from the clutches of a mistreating hunter from Perigord
14.02.2020
Sixteen dogs miraculously saved from the clutches of a mistreating hunter from Perigord
Hunting

After our investigation and the dissemination of our successive images on the deleterious conditions of dogs detained at Richard Mandrals place, a hunter based in the Dordogne. We were able after taking legal action to force the Prefect to act, we were then allowed to save sixteen of them.

They are called Heroes, Ondine, Inano, Xena, Léonie, Plume, Rosalie, Mimi, Freya, Napoleon, Ido, Hiti and Gascogne. There are also three puppies that Richard Mandral didn’t even bother to name, care for or identify, we called them Theo, Lina and Axel. They are dogs and bitches who, unlike their comrades who stayed with the hunter, have the chance to find a loving home, a warm family, who will not treat them like machines, some for hunting and others for breeding.

Thursday February 6th 2020, the hunter gave up these unfortunate sixteen, under the eyes of the DDSCPP. Our relentless checking and follow-up had increased the pressure, and they had to keep their commitments to the judge.

Each dog was installed in a transport crate, after the very natural first worry, most of them fell asleep, those who had never known the reassuring and soft sensation of a warm blanket under their aching bodies…

After a few hours of travel, they were all taken to vets. The accounts are unequivocal: worms, fleas, ticks, nodules, lesions, conjunctivitis, dental abscesses, ear infections, bedsores, mastitis, vulvar oedemas, hernias, lameness, etc. How long have they lived with a stomach ache? With painful paws, eyes, teeth and ears? How much pain is still going through those who have not yet been saved?

«The result is a threat to the life of these animals, because some of these pathologies (parasitism, infections, uncontrolled reproduction, etc.) can lead to serious general disorders, which can possibly lead to death.»

Extract from the veterinarian’s certificate

Then, it was the discovery of loving, warm people. They savoured the first real caresses, felt the fresh grass under their paws, they who for the most part had known only the law of the strongest to survive … They began their treatments, and the puppies, of which we did not know if they would survive, are already in better shape.

Obviously, this is not the case for all of these dogs who are on the verge of thinness with cachexia, and some have serious health problems resulting from obvious carelessness. When we know that for the DDCSPP, there is “no reason” to remove all of its animals from this hunter, it has shocked us. Many of them are not identified, some do not even belong to him!

We are going to need you to rehouse these large dogs who are waiting for a loving home to flourish, and long daily walks to discover a taste for life, as well as the comfort that should have been offered to them in the past. About seventy-five dogs are still there, we will do everything so that they are saved in turn. As for this hunter without conscience and the authorities who have lets this happen, we will not stop there.

In the case of “hunting” dogs, who are they kidding?

In the case of “hunting” dogs, who are they kidding?
13.02.2020
In the case of “hunting” dogs, who are they kidding?
Hunting

Inspection after inspection at the home of a Dordogne hunter, the reports written for the prefecture are worse than the previous ones. However, the Prefect refuses to impose measures that would allow the dogs to benefit from appropriate care. We lodged a summary of complaints with the administrative tribunal of Bordeaux. Once again, the Prefecture of Dordogne has been seeking to counter us instead of putting the interest of the animals into the foreground. These animals are in obvious suffering at the home of Richard Mandral. But exactly as for Bony and Glasha, as soon as our summary was filed, the Prefect ordered measures, and therefore the court rejected our requests pending the application of Prefectural measures. We will see what happens after the deadline for the Prefectural decree, and we will not let go.

Inspections by the DDCSPP, the state veterinary services, at the Dordogne hunter’s home, concluded that the situation was worse than the previous one, and the prefect did not, however, order measures commensurate with the problem.

What pressures are at work? Those of hunters?

At this point, our images released months apart prove the situation is dire and the authorities are not doing anything tangible. Why do they prefer to protect the hunter rather than the dogs, who are clearly victims of mistreatment? For months, we have been investigating and broadcasting videos of the kennels of this Perigord hunter who breeds in total violation of the law, and in which the dogs do not benefit from care, are tied up or in large starving packs where the law of the fittest reigns.

We have provided the proof through the images of cannibalistic dogs, puppies, tethered adults, sick dogs and even abandoned corpses. However, for the authorities: “no reason” to take away all the hunter’s dogs. There is no emergency or abuse. A simple quota is enough. No coercive measures have been put in place to improve the situation! The inspections of the veterinary services of the Prefecture go in our direction, but the Prefecture refuses to take adequate measures for these dogs, which are nevertheless under its responsibility.

How far does the power of hunters extend in our country, those who make us live in many regions in areas of lawlessness? What makes these dogs so different that they are not protected like other dogs?

A situation that worsens from inspection to inspection without any consequences …

In June 2018, state services counted 112 dogs instead of the 45 authorized. The problem was not new … On this occasion, they mentioned the non-compliance of the conditions for storing food for dogs, protection against bad weather and excessive temperatures, as well as those of places of detention (the presence of old agricultural equipment that can cause injuries, animals injured or without care, lack of veterinary follow-up, unsuitable accommodation with dogs kept tethered outside all year round, etc.). And in the formal notice, the problems of identifying dogs, their watering, attacks between congeners, known as “hierarchical conflicts”, are already mentioned …

Since then, inspections have followed one another and have shown that the condition of these animals is worsening without anything being put in place by the state to enforce the application of the regulations! Worse, he allowed the situation to escalate and left dogs suffering, at least one of whom has died.

«The administration therefore argues that it has not been inactive in this case and that it has carried out five inspections. However, these steps are the consequence of the complaints filed and the images published by the requesting association! Moreover, while non-conformities persist throughout inspections, no effective sanction has been taken for almost two years to protect dogs and stem births.»

Extract from the One Voice summary

Wild breeding and dog trafficking

The authorities hide behind the rustic appearance of the place, and the fact that they are “hunting dogs”, but as our lawyer writes:

«There are no specific regulations for hunting dog packs. Therefore, it is the law concerning dogs that applies here, in other words that of pets of domestic species. No one can believe that Mr. Mandral’s 100 dogs, who is on his own to care for them, can receive the same attention and care, or that he hunts daily with such a large pack.»

All dogs – regardless of how humans use them – should receive the same care, protection, and respect! There, the holes dug in the ground by some dogs held in tether around their kennels testify to the restriction of their movements … The others get bitten in the common enclosures, and die there…

The summary judge refused to order the Dordogne prefecture to identify, withdraw and carry out a clinical assessment of the dogs held by this hunter, and to monitor the animals transferred to an animal protection association, pending the end the application of the prefecture’s measures. We will always be there after!

Our country must urgently turn the tide when it comes to animal welfare and the conditions in which they are kept. To note that there is a double standard between the so-called hunting dogs and the others in the eyes of the authorities is more than worrying. Turning a blind eye to the unhappiness of these poor sick animals is unacceptable. The neglect and rustic appearance of a property should not blind the authorities, let alone the judges! We will not let go, the dysfunctions in animal protection are alarming. The death and suffering of these poor dogs will not go unpunished.