News Archive - Page 89 of 148

Botulinum toxin: for the mice, the fight continues!

Botulinum toxin: for the mice, the fight continues!
29.06.2020
France
Botulinum toxin: for the mice, the fight continues!
Animal testing

We thought their ordeal was almost over, alternative methods being preferred – finally – by the major laboratories. But there is one that still uses the cruel LD50 test: Sloan Pharma continues to sacrifice mice by the thousand! A week of action has been organized from 29 June to 4 July in order to persuade this company to follow the path of progress. Help us to stop mice being poisoned!

Progress and ethics

Under pressure from the ECEAE (European Coalition to End Animal Experiments), of which One Voice is the French representative, the laboratories of Allergan, Merz and IPSEN have one after the other chosen to use experimental methods that are for the most part more modern, efficient and ethical, thus halting the annual massacre of thousands of mice. However Sloan Pharma killed 46,800 in 2019 alone!

How the mice suffer

Mice are injected with botulinum toxin and remain conscious while paralysis slowly sets in. They suffocate for a long time before dying of asphyxiation. It continues to be a terrible death for almost 400,000 mice every year in Europe. Alternative tests for each type of toxin have already been or can easily be developed. It is high time that European science took ethics and progress seriously!

A week of action

The ECEAE is organizing a week of action from 29 June to 4 July to persuade Sloan Pharma to stop sacrificing mice. Your indignation and support will be extremely useful to us. Therefore we are asking for the production of Neurobloc© to be suspended until an alternative test has been developed, and we invite consumers to boycott this product during this time.

One Voice is not giving up objecting to the new decree allowing labs to experiment on animals obtained from unregistered breeders

One Voice is not giving up objecting to the new decree allowing labs to experiment on animals obtained from unregistered breeders
26.06.2020
France
One Voice is not giving up objecting to the new decree allowing labs to experiment on animals obtained from unregistered breeders
Animal testing

Since Monday 22 June, when we publicly denounced the measures that will be detrimental to animals included in decree n° 2020-274 adopted on 17 March 2020, many people have tweeted in support of our campaign and signed our petition. Following our appeal to the Prime Minister on 27 April we are now submitting an appeal against the decree to the Council of State.

Minimal improvements

The decree does provide a few minimal improvements, as we emphasized in our appeal to the Prime Minister, such as the change of name of the Commission and the broadening of the composition of the National Commission on Animal Experimentation to include three representatives of animal- or wildlife-protection organizations.

Two provisions problematic for animals from breeders

But we are appealing to the Prime Minister to reconsider two provisions of the decree in particular. First there is a loosening of the criteria that we do not understand, relating to the use of animals from unregistered breeders. In other words, the criteria for obtaining derogations and buying animals from unregistered breeders have been relaxed.

The other provision that we are denouncing is allowing exceptions under which experimental procedures can be carried out in unlicensed establishments. Testing would therefore be allowed on premises other than in the laboratories that comply with the few regulations to protect animals. Where? In breeding establishments? Who will hold information on these premises where experiments are carried out? What transparency and what checks will there be when the rate of unannounced inspections of vivisection laboratories in France is already the lowest in Europe? It is very worrying.

An explosive mixture: less restrictive regulation of breeders than in the past

At the same time the system of licensing dog-breeders has changed. Previously breeders with between 10 and 49 dogs had to make a simple declaration and those with 50 dogs or more had to obtain a licence after an official inspection. Since the decree of 22 October 2018 breeders with fewer than 100 dogs have no longer been subject to any formalities other than making a simple declaration, thus doubling the number of dogs authorized.

Breeders of other species of animal are not subject to any regulations. We are awaiting the hearing in the Council of State following our appeal against the decree, which represents an unacceptable setback for the animal cause.

After the publication of the official figures for the number of animals used in laboratories, one of the highest in Europe with almost 2 million animals in 2018, we are continuing to demand a proactive policy of providing massive funding for research into non-animal alternatives.

Following its appeal to the Prime Minister, sent on 27 April 2020, One Voice is also submitting an appeal against the offending provisions of ministerial decree n° 2020-274 to the Council of State.

Translated from the French by Patricia Fairey

2018: the sad figures for vivisection in France are out

2018: the sad figures for vivisection in France are out
25.06.2020
France
2018: the sad figures for vivisection in France are out
Animal testing

We had been awaiting them without much hope. The 2018 figures for animal experimentation in France have been published. Once again almost 2 million animals were used.

In February we revealed how the figures for vivisection had been manipulated after the statistics for Europe were published.
Now the figures for France have been published, and there has been no progress!

Almost 2 million victims

1,910,519 victims were used in experiments, including 120,265 in lethal procedures and 357,353 in experiments categorised as severe.

Why? Because although nothing can justify the suffering of animals exploited in laboratories it is even more shocking to note that 36.2% were used for basic research!
According to INSERM (Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale – National Institute for Health and Medical Research) the official definition of basic research is:
«Expanding horizons in the life and health sciences, and improving our understanding of biological phenomena, fundamental research is first and foremost a source of knowledge. The results of this exploratory research can be hard to predict, but it can also be particularly effective in revealing the totally novel concepts that are the drivers of progress and innovation.»

In other words there is no ‘precise’ objective, it’s merely groping in the dark.

When one is aware of the limits and deficiencies it is no less shocking that 27% of animals are used for developing and manufacturing medicaments and food and conducting quality and safety tests. Moreover it is those experiments that mainly use our friends – dogs.

Appalling figures

The main victims are (of course?) the unfortunate mice (62% of animals used), and despite the European directives our companions are not spared:

4,219 dogs used – 141 in severe and 202 in lethal procedures;
1,185 cats used – 5 in severe and 4 in lethal procedures;
482 horses and other equines used – 6 in severe and 5 in lethal procedures.

As for our primate cousins, from marmosets to macaques, 3,510 were used. No great apes, obviously, but it is known that partnerships mean that some research is outsourced to laboratories in other countries.

Reused, subjected to repeated suffering

Many animals are reused in several experiments. Most of these are reptiles (mainly viviparous lizards, 99%), then goats (78%), horses and other equines (75%) and cats (63%). Our cousins are also often reused: marmosets (71%), baboons (53%), rhesus monkeys (45%) and macaques (24%).

Of course these figures indicate that the number of lives taken is lower, but at what price! The increase in the length of the ordeal, even though not in its intensity, cannot be justified.

It is time for French research to make pertinent choices both in progress and in ethics. In the case of botulinum toxin, many lives can be saved using alternative methods, some of which already exist or soon will. And rather than sacrificing even more dogs by using those from pet-breeders, it would put an end to this senseless and shameful practice.

Translated from the French by Patricia Fairey

Our pets to be sold to laboratories

Our pets to be sold to laboratories
22.06.2020
France
Our pets to be sold to laboratories
Animal testing

We need your urgent help to save hundreds of dogs sentenced to be experimented on. Yes, we mean our most faithful companions! A decree that the government adopted on the quiet during the lockdown allows them to be sacrificed. We need to act very quickly to get this barbarity stopped!

From now on pet breeders are authorised to supply laboratories with animals to experiment on without being registered. Establishments can therefore now simply get rid of their ‘surplus’ dogs without any checks being carried out – a very handy way of making money from animals left unsold as a result of businesses not being allowed to operate over the last few weeks.

This is allowed under Decree n° 2020-27 of 17 March 2020, which amends the regulations on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes.

The relaxation of these criteria benefits non-specialist suppliers and will give rise to a new system of shameful abuse and, eventually, make organised massacre legal. France, the European champion in animal experimentation with more than two million victims a year and the country that abuses the most dogs in laboratories, is once again showing that there are no limits to its vileness.

A veritable supermarket for experimenters

All breeds of dog and puppy are destined for the scalpel. Breeders of hunting dogs have a particularly close relationship with laboratories, supplying them with numerous victims such as beagles, springer spaniels and pointers. Being medium-sized, gentle and docile, hunting dogs are in fact very popular ‘subjects of scientific research’ because they are easier to handle.

Moreover, since 2018 the number of dogs that establishments are allowed to breed, sell, transport and keep with no prior authorisation, professional certification nor specific regulations to protect them has risen from 50 to 250. As the rate of inspection of registered establishments in France is already one of the lowest in the European Union, the new suppliers of laboratories will also certainly take advantage of this new source of income to bend the rules even further. Laboratories are also well protected from sanctions since only 20% of the inspections carried out in France are unannounced, whereas the average in other countries is 40%.

The fate that awaits the victims …

The abuse inflicted on the dogs is indescribable: medicaments are tested on them, they are injected with viruses, they are poisoned so that the symptoms and resultant damage can be studied, their organs are ‘examined’, they are made ill or mad in the name of science and genetic experiments are carried out on them, all in prison conditions. Laboratories use a diabolical range of methods to kill animals, inflicting unimaginable suffering on them. Those dogs that do not die by violence or in protracted agony are killed in order to be sold as ‘spare parts’.

This is not only unmitigated cruelty but scientifically flawed. We know that none of the results obtained by animal experimentation can be applied to humans, whereas it is perfectly possible to use substitutes to develop scientific solutions: cell cultures, mini-organs in vitro, digital modelling (in silico), mathematical modelling etc.

This disgusting torture must cease forthwith!

How can we save these dogs that we love so much?

With your support we can challenge this decree and raise awareness of these government shenanigans. One Voice has submitted an appeal to the Prime Minister and denounced the measures as contrary to European Union regulations and to the guiding principles of Article L. 110-1 of the Environment Code. We also hope that you will respond to this SOS. It is obviously a major undertaking but you can change the fate of dogs sentenced to suffer a dreadful fate by opening your home to them, welcoming them into your family, offering them your protection and giving them back the freedom and dignity that are their due.

Annulez le décret qui vise à augmenter le nombre de victimes de l’#ExpérimentationAnimale et financez les méthodes alternatives à la place, @gouvernementFR, @EPhilippePM, @sup_recherche, @VidalFrederique, @MinSoliSante, @olivierveran ! https://bit.ly/37ZHmBb

Click on the button under this text to tweet

Translated from the French by Patricia Fairey

After his first operation Jon is starting to live again!

After his first operation Jon is starting to live again!
20.06.2020
Loire
After his first operation Jon is starting to live again!
Exploitation for shows

Since being rescued from a circus two weeks ago Jon has been a lot better. His day-to-day needs are being met by our friends at Tonga Terre d’Accueil, who are bending over backwards to find stimulating activities for him and to take care of him. We have just spent two days at his side in order to be with him while he was having an operation and see for ourselves what progress he is making.

A lion almost back to full health!

In ten days Jon has really picked up. His ribs are no longer visible under his fur and he is much livelier than when we rescued him from the circus where he had been exploited for several years. The twenty kilos he has put on can also be seen by the skin on his belly, which is starting to fill out. He has made enormous progress in such a short time, which proves that his advanced wasting was definitely not due to age or illness but was a clear indication that he was being starved by the owner of the circus.

His rapid weight gain proves that he was dying of hunger

Though shy at first, Jon was transformed when he discovered the outer part of his enclosure where he is convalescing. He now plays every day with various things placed in it by the Tonga Terre d’Accueil team to help him rediscover his zest for life. One day it is a big ball, another day tree stumps or a trunk resting on wooden feet. The ultimate secret to stimulate his senses: spices sprinkled around the enclosure, which make him dig in the sand and turn over pieces of bark in search of the source of the smell, which may be attractive or repulsive but is always intriguing. Another sign that he has become more confident: when he arrived he used to urinate on himself but now he does it on the walls (inside and outside!) to mark his territory everywhere.

A mutilated lion finally treated

Jon now digs holes, plays, vocalises more and more and gobbles his food down. The vet therefore reckoned that he was fit enough to be anaesthetised on Thursday 18 June so that his tail, on which we had noted numerous injuries, could be treated. The operation, under a general anaesthetic, went off without a hitch, but the vet had to remove part of the tail in order to stitch it neatly.

The vet also checked and confirmed what we had noted on the first day: Jon had no claws in his front paws. His teeth were also thoroughly inspected: all of them had been cut right down and one of the fangs was completely hollow and filled with putrefied food particles. All the pieces that had become black were extracted. But he has to be operated on again, for his teeth this time, by a specialist. They must have caused him immense suffering, which explains why he spends his time biting things.

Jon rediscovers his zest for life!

On Thursday, once Jon had come round from the anaesthetic, he threw himself on his food before going outside to fall sleep on his back, belly offered up to the sun’s rays. Within a few hours he had perked up. Obviously he still bears the stigmata of his life on the road. But we are hopeful that with a life far from the wagon and violent trainers, and with the disappearance of his chronic toothache, his stereotypic movements and self-mutilation will cease.

This lion who just a short time ago was suffering agonies is healing under our protective wing. We shall do everything in our power to enable his companions Hannah, Patty, Céleste and Marli to join him as soon as possible.

Translated by Patricia Fairey

At the Chimpanzee Conservation Centre in Guinea our closest cousins start to live again

At the Chimpanzee Conservation Centre in Guinea our closest cousins start to live again
17.06.2020
Guinea
At the Chimpanzee Conservation Centre in Guinea our closest cousins start to live again
Wildlife

We have just entered into partnership with the organization Projet Primates France to support the Chimpanzee Conservation Centre (CCC) in the Republic of Guinea. We are looking forward to providing direct help towards rehabilitating our closest cousins into their natural environment. This scheme means we are also helping to protect many other species, combat deforestation and train local people.

Located 250 miles from Conakry, the capital of the country, far from any road or village, the Chimpanzee Conservation Centre (CCC) in the Republic of Guinea is cut off from the outside world, in the middle of the forest, as close as possible to the animals.

Survivors of trafficking

Almost a hundred chimpanzees – orphans, babies, juveniles and adults – have found refuge here since the centre was set up twenty years ago. Chimpanzees in great physical and psychological distress, trafficked and sold as companion animals. Most of the sixty-four currently living here have suffered the same dreadful experiences: their mothers and other members of their group were assassinated in front of their eyes when they were small. Then they were captured, taken from their native forest and sold into captivity.

A place of sanctuary

The Chimpanzee Conservation Centre works alongside the authorities during rescue operations, its mission being to offer a haven of peace and a new future for these unfortunate creatures. Some of them are in a pitiful state when they arrive. They are often very ill, specifically because of diseases that they have contracted as a result of their contact with humans and with which their immune systems cannot cope. They are then placed in quarantine for three months, during which time they receive treatment for both their physical and their psychological problems. In order to help it recover from its traumatic experiences each orphan is assigned a human ‘substitute mother’ to look after it round the clock. It is with its new mother that it returns to the forest for the first time to try out its skills. At the end of the quarantine period it is integrated into a group of chimpanzees and goes out into the bush with them every day, accompanied by two members of staff.

Rehabilitation

But the Centre is not only a refuge: its aim is also to return the chimpanzees to the wild once they have the necessary skills. It’s a long-term project during which over a dozen years the youngest chimpanzees are taught by their elders while gradually loosening ties with humans. In this ‘forest school’ they learn both to communicate among themselves and to forge social relationships, forage for food, use tools, hunt, recognise danger etc.

Release

As of today seventeen chimpanzees have already been released into a territory covering 20 square miles within the National Park of the Upper Niger, which is recognised as a key area for the conservation of this globally endangered species. It is amazing to watch these creatures, saved from a tragic fate, gradually regain confidence and autonomy and being accepted into groups of wild chimpanzees.

Interconnected goals

We are pleased and proud to take part in the remarkable work of the CCC through our partnership with Projet Primates France. In addition to helping to end the suffering of these creatures and to rehabilitate them, this scheme is also part of the fight to prevent deforestation and the death of many other animals (in particular the pangolins that share the same habitat) and to encourage local people to become involved. Human and non-human animals, planet – same fight!

Translated from the French by Patricia Fairey

Birth and death in a dolphinarium – a week in a pool

Birth and death in a dolphinarium – a week in a pool
16.06.2020
Loire-Atlantique
Birth and death in a dolphinarium – a week in a pool
Exploitation for shows

Amtan’s latest calf died seven days after he was born. Dolphinariums are not acceptable homes for dolphins! They must be closed down, and Planète Sauvage is not an exception to the rule!

We returned to Planète Sauvage when it reopened on 24 May to see how the dolphins were, and in particular Galéo. Amtan was then pregnant and was swimming round with the other prisoners – Lucille, Péos, Ocean etc.

Now, a week after having given birth to her little one, she is mourning his death. He died a few days ago.

Dolphinariums are not a healthy environment for dolphins. What can one say about the life of this dolphin calf? He had hardly taken his first breath before Planète Sauvage used him as an object to promote its business! Video, competition to find him a name etc. There’s no shortage of funds for that. That’s all the industry of captivity knows how to do – promote the misery of these amazing creatures and add names or numbers to the list of deaths. The death of Amtan’s baby is just one more to be added to that of Aïcko and so many others.

Let’s act together to get dolphinariums closed down! Sign our petition!

Going all out to save the lionesses, Jon’s companions!

Going all out to save the lionesses, Jon’s companions!
15.06.2020
Eure
Going all out to save the lionesses, Jon’s companions!
Exploitation for shows

As the State has failed in its duty to protect animals, in particular Jon but also Hannah, Patty, Céleste and Marli, the four lionesses still in the hands of the trainer, we are holding it to account and commencing urgent proceedings on their behalf!

Since saving Jon we have waited, sent expert opinions … That was ten days ago and nothing has happened. We shall not let the lionesses suffer in this circus any longer. The prefecture seems to be turning a blind eye to the mortal danger to which they are certainly exposed. It is inconceivable that these shameless trainers are not treating them any less badly than they did Jon.

Today, Monday 15 June 2020, we are lodging an urgent application with the Administrative Court and are asking the judge to order the Prefect to remove the lionesses and all the non-domestic animals from this circus and hand them over to One Voice. In addition we are calling on the Administrative Court to order an expert report on their welfare, as an alternative. To summarize, if the judge does not order that they be seized, we are applying for an expert to be appointed to carry out an urgent evaluation of the condition of Hannah, Patty, Céleste and Marli.

And tomorrow we shall also bring before the Administrative Court an action against the Prefect for failure to fulfil his obligations relating to animal protection. Not fulfilling them puts animals in danger, since they rely on him. The damages that we are asking for will go to felines rescued from circuses.

It is totally unacceptable for the State to be satisfied that these mutilated animals appear to be in good health and leave them to suffer agonies in the prisons that are circuses. In addition, Jon was being kept illegally: circuses are prohibited from keeping wild animals that are not used in performances. Why over the past two years have the prefecture and the veterinary services not intervened to help these poor creatures?

Translated from the French by Patricia Fairey

In reply to the prefecture of the Eure, following the seizure of the lion Jon

In reply to the prefecture of the Eure, following the seizure of the lion Jon
10.06.2020
Eure
In reply to the prefecture of the Eure, following the seizure of the lion Jon
Exploitation for shows

Following the distribution of the images of the rescue of the lion Jon, the prefecture of the Eure has published a press release. However it seems that its services are not in possession of the full facts even though our first complaint against the Cirque de Paris was submitted in 2018 – in the department of the Eure!

The association One Voice points out that on 8 October 2018 it submitted a complaint to the Public Prosecutor of Evreux relating to acts of cruelty, ill-treatment, conditions likely to cause suffering and illegal exploitation while the Cirque de Paris was in Saint-Marcel. This complaint is still current and One Voice has of course therefore made an additional complaint in the light of the state of health of the lion that has been entrusted to it.

The association is not authorized to talk about the current inquiry. In October 2018, in addition to the animals it usually keeps, the circus was exhibiting Dumba. For decades her ‘owners’ have been hiring her out to circuses all over the world and to film companies. This elephant too was in a pitiful state and we had also submitted a complaint in her name.

Cirque de Paris : @Prefet27 fait une mise au point suite à la diffusion d’une vidéo de l’association @onevoiceanimal. pic.twitter.com/STvalhnrew

— Préfet de l’Eure (@Prefet27) June 10, 2020

In March 2020, a few days before the lockdown, the association found out that the circus had ‘replaced’ Dumba with Baby, who is also hired out by her trainer for events such as a special offer in a supermarket, a wedding or an advertising stunt. Like Dumba before her she performed in the big top under the gaze of the audience, who were unaware of her unhappiness and of the danger: in fact many of them took selfies with her during the interval or followed her to the trailer after the performance, also in violation of the legislation.

The association One Voice is shocked to discover that an inspection was carried out on 27 April 2020, i.e. a month and a half ago, by the veterinary inspectors of the prefecture of the Eure, who did not notice the deplorable condition of the animals and in particular of the lion, and, even worse, concluded that they were in « apparent good health« , even though the prefecture is the only authority responsible for the welfare of these animals and consequently required to inspect these establishments regularly, paying particular attention to animal-protection issues.

The Prefect declares that the purpose of these inspections is not to check on the welfare of the animals but merely on their appearance. And that is precisely what the problem is. That must change. These inspections must include protection of the animals, as provided for in law.

In any event, who can seriously think that Jon was enjoying apparent good health a month and a half ago?!

Saving Jon, a lion who suffered agonies, from a circus in France

Saving Jon, a lion who suffered agonies, from a circus in France
09.06.2020
Eure
Saving Jon, a lion who suffered agonies, from a circus in France
Exploitation for shows

Mutilated, starved, shut in, transported, subjugated … That’s what Jon will have known all his life. We have saved him from the circus that had been exploiting him. The repeated lies of the veterinary services are more and more flagrant.Jon has escaped from hell and we shall never let him return.But how many others are still there?

Just skin and bones

Jon has just been saved and we have been entrusted to look after him by the Procurator of Évreux and the agents of the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) of Eure whom we thank for this collaboration started 2 years ago. He is in an even worse condition than lions in zoos in countries devastated by war. Yet he was in a circus in France!

What are the authorities doing?

We have been following their ordeal for two years and all that time the authorities responsible for the welfare of the animals and checking on them regularly have done absolutely nothing. To the press, the prefecture of Eure said on the day of the seizure that the animals were “generally healthy “.

Four lionesses, Jon’s former fellow prisoners, Hannah, Patty, Celeste and Marli, are still in the hands of the trainer. We filmed them too from 2018 until last March. We are lodging a complaint in their name!

First steps into a comfortable future

On reaching our partner, the refuge Tonga Terre d’Accueil, Jon, torpid from the journey, finally arrives in his enclosure. The ground is so soft and gentle under his paws! His expression, astonished but still fearful, is heartbreaking. There is a trough of water for him. But he doesn’t know what it is and knocks it over. His paws ‘scratch’ and seem to want to move it but they can’t. There is no sound of claws. Suddenly it dawns on us: he has been declawed! Then he lowers his head and takes the trough in his mouth. He bites so hard that it makes a screeching noise. These sounds reflect his agony. He has no canine teeth left: all his teeth have been ground down to the pulp. These are his first acts on leaving the cage in which he has been transported: seeking to relieve the dreadful pain.

«Jon shows the stigmata of the mutilations and acts of cruelty that he has suffered for years with no respite. The torture he has endured is that of all circus lions, majestic animals reduced to the status of puppets used purely for entertainment. And even what weak legislation exists to protect them is not complied with, because the authorities responsible turn a blind eye. Circuses are way of mistreating animals legally … and as a result they die.»Muriel Arnal, founding-presidente-fondatrice of One Voice

Claws and teeth pulled out, starved…

That’s what he has suffered in addition to hunger: mutilations. There is no doubt that they were carried out in order to make it easier to subjugate him. When he arrives he is a young lion with no teeth, with no claws, with no strength, lying prostrate in a corner as if he has lost the will to live. The truth is far from the claptrap of the trainers who seek to justify captivity as providing a better quality of life in wagons far from the poachers hunting trophies in Africa! Jon is on the verge of death and permanently suffering! The teams from Natuurhulpcentrum, our Belgian partners who have come to help us provide initial care, are still in shock. Jon has open wounds on his tail and a lot of scars, the skin on his belly is hanging down, his ribs are visible … Who knows what other abuse he has suffered?

«I have worked on the issue of wild animals in circuses for 16 years, yet I was shocked to see the condition that Jon is in. He is extremely underweight; it will become more clear in time whether this is either a result of inadequate feeding or an underlying health condition. I am delighted that he is now in a place of safety where his health can be examined and addressed properly, and we look forward to working with OneVoice and other partners to devise a plan to relocate him to a lifetime care facility in due course. Jon’s condition is proof, once again, that circuses are no place for wild animals.»Dr. Chris Draper, head of Animal Welfare & Captivity, Born Free

A gradual improvement

The first days at the refuge, the metal trough has been replaced by a tub fixed in such a way that Jon can drink. As he is suffering terribly and has no teeth he is fed with small pieces of food. It is a very gradual return to eating, in fact, because a ‘normal’ quantity of food could kill him.

He now takes pleasure in playing with the ball and the branches that have been provided to enrich his daily life by a team looking after him. He has also discovered his exterior enclosure, which is open to the sky, and has felt the sun’s rays on his scrawny fur for the first time. Despite the uncertainly of the outcome, since numerous medical checks will have to be carried out, it is already easy to see that his condition is improving.

One Voice is grateful to her partners: the Born Free Foundation, the rescue centres Tonga Terre d’accueil and NaturuumHulpCentruum.

A hearing is expected to take place at a later date, because unfortunately the fact that Jon has been seized does not affect the outcome of the trial in any way. We shall fight to the end for Jon not to return to the hell that he has endured.

Let’s write to the Ministry of Ecological and Inclusive Transition!

Via Twitter

Jon is not from a zoo in a country at war. @onevoiceanimal rescued him from a French circus in June 2020. According to @Prefet27 he is in good health.

@Ecologie_Gouv, @Elisabeth_Borne, @brunepoirson, #BanCircusAnimals, when they will all be dead? https://www.lion-de-cirque.fr/en/

Via le site du ministère

Dear Ministry of Ecological and Inclusive Transition,

Jon isn’t from a zoo in a country at war. One Voice rescued him from a circus in France, several days ago, in June 2020. According to the Prefet of Eure, animals in this circus are in good health.

#BanCircusAnimals, when they will all be dead? https://www.lion-de-cirque.fr/en/

Respectfully,

Translated from the French by Patricia Fairey