In the Loire-Atlantique region, hunts at the authorities’ initiative… on the sly

In the Loire-Atlantique region, hunts at the authorities’ initiative… on the sly
19.05.2025
Loire-Atlantique
In the Loire-Atlantique region, hunts at the authorities’ initiative… on the sly
Wildlife

In the Loire-Atlantique region, hunts are being authorised by the authorities in complete secrecy. Without any public announcement or debate, they allow dozens —even hundreds— of hunters to shoot wild boar, deer and foxes out of season and under the radar. Join us in writing to the Prefect to demand a ban on these mass killings and remind him that the law is not optional, especially when thousands of lives are at stake!

Hunts at the authorities’ initiative in complete discretion

A few weeks ago, exasperated residents contacted us, tired of this organised rampage in the municipality of Frossay. Despite our research, it was impossible to find any orders authorising these operations, which were never published by the Prefect. How many towns in the region and in France are affected by these covert interventions?

In Frossay, these orders even authorise the officially appointed huntmasters to invite dozens of trackers –up to a hundred– to come and join in the “fun”. A new order dated 12 May gives the huntmaster authorisation to slaughter wild boars two days later using lead or buckshot, accompanied by 40 people! All this is done in complete secrecy, with no possibility for citizens or associations to take legal action in the hope of saving the animals, even though the judges often cancel these operations. This is yet another scheme to slaughter animals, put obstacles in our way, and prevent citizens from being informed about these killings.

For an end to these hunts and transparency from the prefectures!

These covertly organised days offer armed men a new privilege: to kill whenever they see fit. The protection of crops and public safety are now nothing more than pretexts: in reality, it is solely a matter of satisfying a minority of rifle-bearing people who want to prolong their morbid “passion”.

Faced with this abuse, the prefecture’s inaction is a clear political choice. Organising mass hunts without informing the public is condemning the animals without any possibility of appeal. We are sounding the alarm: transparency is not optional, especially when many of these animals do not survive.

Sign our petition now for a radical reform of this practice and join us in writing to the Prefect to demand a ban on these mass hunts and an end to this unacceptable lack of transparency!

 

Dear Prefect,

Every month, you authorise hunts of wild animals at the authorities’ initiative in the municipality of Frossay. However, these orders are never published in the prefecture’s registry of administrative acts (RAA). This practice is illegal, as these acts only come into force once they have been published.

This is particularly evident in the technical documentation of 26 November 2024 relating to the officially appointed huntmasters, which states that “the entry into force of a prefectural order authorising a hunt at the authorities’ initiative (this is a regulatory act) is subject to the publication of the order in the RAA of the Prefecture. The prefectural order comes into force the day after the text is published in the RAA”.

How many orders have been adopted in this way at the departmental level in recent months? How many animals have been killed in complete secrecy, without citizens or associations being able to take action to challenge these, often illegal, orders?

We ask you to put an end to these illegal mass killings, whose sole purpose is to allow hunters to indulge their passion out of season.

Allowing the officially appointed huntmasters to be accompanied by up to a hundred men of their choice to carry out these operations opens the door to massive abuse and contributes to turning this exceptional procedure into a disguised hunting season, which is unacceptable.

We also ask you to put an end to the lack of transparency and to publish all orders authorising hunts at the authorities’ initiative in the prefecture’s registry of administrative acts in sufficient time to allow any interested citizen to take legal action before the animals are killed.

Yours sincerely,

Wolves: in the Saône-et-Loire region, let’s save Camille, threatened with imminent slaughter

Wolves: in the Saône-et-Loire region, let’s save Camille, threatened with imminent slaughter
19.05.2025
Saône-et-Loire Wolves: in the Saône-et-Loire region, let’s save Camille, threatened with imminent slaughter
Wildlife

Wolves are being exterminated one by one in the Saône-et-Loire region, and Camille, the latest arrival, is no exception. The lieutenants of louveterie and pests, under the orders of the prefect, have already been after him since Thursday evening (15/05/2025). He was even the target of a shot. The Prefecture and the Ministry are always quick to slaughter a single wolf and destroy all the biodiversity he is responsible for, as long as they can satisfy hunters and certain breeders.

Photo: OFB

In the Saône-et-Loire region, the only response to the arrival of wolves on the territory is lethal shooting. The State has opted for systematic death, and these wild cousins of dogs have been shot one after the other, in 2020, 2021 and 2023. 

Barely arrived, already hunted down

When Camille’s presence in the village of Morey was confirmed, hateful reactions abounded: the FDSEA and Jeunes Agriculteurs 71, true to form, called for the kill in an open letter.

As usual, the Prefect bowed to the wishes of the breeders, who have always refused to protect their herds destined for the slaughterhouse. He facilitated the shootings, without in any way requiring the implementation of protective measures. 

Camille has therefore become prey since last Thursday. “The wolf was shot on Thursday evening, but missed,” said the prefect, much to his dismay.

The prefect is rubbing his hands, however, as he has summoned the OFB’s national brigade to get the wolf. A veritable hunt is underway. Financed by taxpayers. 

Only one solution: cohabitation

It’s inconceivable to hate nature so much. It’s obvious that the successive culling of every wolf in the Saône-et-Loire region has done nothing to reduce the number of attacks. Every time a wolf is killed, another one takes their place. It’s time to stop constantly playing the fear card and refusing to question the situation. It’s high time for the State to assume its responsibilities and encourage farmers to assume theirs. Muriel ARNAL President of One Voice

Electrified pens, guard dogs and human presence: these are the solutions for “protecting” animals. Contrary to what the French Minister of Agriculture claims, there are other solutions than culling, which proves cruel and ineffective every time. 

Why always kill rather than live together? 7 out of 10 French people (Ipsos/One Voice poll, November 2024) think that it is unacceptable for the State to slaughter animals from protected species for the simple reason that they may represent a risk to livestock farming, and 81% consider that the return of wolves to France represents a real benefit for biodiversity.

Another path is possible, as in Mexico or Abruzzo.

For all the wolves in France, we are present wherever they are in danger, as for Milo and Mina, but also before the courts where we are challenging the decrees administering their death. To put an end to their persecution, sign our petition!

Underground badger hunting out of season: a practice that yields… and will eventually break!

Underground badger hunting out of season: a practice that yields… and will eventually break!
14.05.2025
France
Underground badger hunting out of season: a practice that yields… and will eventually break!
Wildlife

In 2023 and 2024, our large-scale campaigns against the horror of underground hunting saved thousands of badgers from a violent and painful death. Even though dozens of rulings have ruled this indiscriminate hunt illegal, because young badgers are systematically killed, some prefects are determined to allow hunters to have a little “fun” out of season. But we’re making progress: the number of departments authorizing hunting from May 15 has never been so low before, dropping from 72 in 2020 to… 12 in 2025! Once again this year, we’ll be out on the streets and in court to keep up the pressure.

Badgers, favorite target of prefects and hunters

Beneath their discreet appearance, these animals are endowed with a fascinating  intelligence. At night, when they’re not sleeping, they live as a family in intricate burrows that they carefully maintain. They play, educate newborns in late winter and early spring, and play an active part in balancing ecosystems… underground, but not safe. A few weeks after the births, just as the youngest begin to emerge from their refuge, the diggers get their shovels, guns and knives ready to kill them after hours of stalking.

To protect a cruel and extremely violent hobby, the prefects will do anything. The pretexts are each more fallacious than the last: here, badgers are accused of attacking herds of bovines; elsewhere, they are incriminated for destroying several tons of crops. At this rate, perhaps they’ll end up being accused of eating children… This intolerable relentlessness must stop!

From 72 in 2020 to 12 in 2025: the beginning of the end for complementary periods?

In 2023 and 2024, the large-scale campaigns we ran in the field and in the courts with our 

partners helped save thousands of lives. Today, judges are (almost) unanimous: yes, this practice is illegal! Some prefectures even recognize this themselves, as in the Loire-Atlantique region where nearly a third of the animals killed are young badgers, and nearly a third of the females massacred have just given birth. A death sentence for their still-dependent young.

Faced with us, the diggers are deploying all their energy and influence to get the authorities to ignore these rulings. But they cannot resist indefinitely, and the fight is bearing fruit more than ever: in 2025, only 12 departments are preparing to authorize underground hunting from mid-May, compared with 19 in 2024 and 72 in 2020!

With ASPAS and AVES, we are organizing a first salvo of requests in the Mayenne, Allier, Cantal and Puy-de-Dôme regions. Above all, May 15 is World Badger Day! You can now join our national action in your nearest town to speak up on their behalf and that of the foxes, and sign our petition to demand a ban on digging up these animals!

Wolves in the Saône-et-Loire region: refusing to live together means choosing regression

Wolves in the Saône-et-Loire region: refusing to live together means choosing regression
14.05.2025
Saône-et-Loire
Wolves in the Saône-et-Loire region: refusing to live together means choosing regression
Wildlife

The recent publication of the Saône-et-Loire FDSEA’s (one of the region’s agricultural unions) open letter to the Prefect takes us sadly back to a time when the only response to nature’s challenges was extermination. While the last survivor was killed in February (under dubious conditions which are still under investigation and for which we have lodged a complaint), a new individual has apparently been spotted, and immediately the old refrains come to life: “We have to kill it”. No reflection, no hindsight, no desire to build a lasting coexistence. Just the Pavlovian reflex to shoot.

Photo: OFB

Since their return to Saône-et-Loire in 2019, all the wolves that have settled there have been shot one after the other: in 2020, 2021, 2023. The last one was found suspiciously dead in February 2025. Despite this, a new individual has just been spotted in the department this May: proof that culling is ineffective, and that cohabitation is the only solution. 

Protecting farm animals? Unthinkable for agricultural lobbies

Certain villages have been classified as circle 1 (zone eligible for the herd protection measure), enabling farmers to benefit from financial aid to implement them: dogs, electrified pens, reinforced guarding, etc. But instead of seizing this opportunity to revise their practices, the farming unions prefer to ask for… a downgrading! In other words, they’re refusing aid so they don’t have to take responsibility for their herds. At this point, it’s no longer negligence, it’s deliberate sabotage of any policy of cohabitation.

The message is clear: no compromise, no dialogue, no evolution. Just the outright extermination of wolves, a species that is protected at European level and whose return to France is both a strong signal of ecosystem restoration and a crucial test of our ability to live in harmony with the wild world.

To reject existing measures is to exploit animal suffering for ideological ends. It’s playing the fear card to maintain an agricultural model that refuses to be called into question. Cries of psychological distress when faced with the corpses of sheep are unacceptable when, at the same time, you refuse to accept your responsibilities.

We repeat loud and clear: the presence of wolves is not a threat, it’s a challenge. A challenge to our collective intelligence, to our ability to adapt, to our sense of responsibility towards biodiversity. Killing this wolf won’t solve anything. Others will come, as history has proven since 2019. It’s a trick to believe that a protected species can be eradicated by means of derogations and political pressure. On the other hand, setting up electrified parks, having dogs and being physically present on site for some, supporting breeders for others, and preserving living things for all – this is a path that makes sense.

We therefore call on the public authorities not to give in to pressure from the most retrograde agricultural lobbies, to maintain the villages in circle 1 and to extend it to others, to reinforce aid for protection and, above all, to pursue a policy based on science, law and ethics. Living things cannot be managed with a rifle. Nature must be respected.

Sign to demand an end to the slaughter of wolves Sign to demand an end to the slaughter of wolves Sign to demand an end to the slaughter of wolves Sign to demand an end to the slaughter of wolves Sign to demand an end to the slaughter of wolves Sign to demand an end to the slaughter of wolves Sign to demand an end to the slaughter of wolves Sign to demand an end to the slaughter of wolves Sign to demand an end to the slaughter of wolves Sign to demand an end to the slaughter of wolves

Historic victory for ESOD! 27 declassifications mean thousands of animals saved

Historic victory for ESOD! 27 declassifications mean thousands of animals saved
13.05.2025
France
Historic victory for ESOD! 27 declassifications mean thousands of animals saved
Wildlife

“ESOD”. Behind these four letters lies a cruel and violent reality: 18 species declared undesirable and hundreds of thousands of animals slaughtered every year. In 2023, the State drew up the macabre list of nine Group II species, targeted department by department: foxes, martens, stone martens, weasels, Eurasian jays, Eurasian magpies, European starlings, carrion crows and rooks… Almost 500 classifications, based on archaic, outdated criteria. Today, the Council of State has partly ruled in our favour with a historic decision: it has removed martens from this list of shame throughout France, and pronounced 26 removals in the departments!

26 classifications judged illegal and martens removed from the list throughout France

For these harassed animals, life is nothing but a struggle to escape shots and traps. In addition to hunting and administrative hunts, they can be massacred by landowners almost all year round. And when the bullets aren’t flying, there are the traps that maim and kill, the cages that close before a trapper finishes the job with a gun, knife or hand. ESODs are not the only victims, like Cooper, Red Collar or Tigrou, and all the pets that are injured, sometimes fatally.

As soon as it was published, we challenged the decree that issued almost 500 classifications throughout France. Today, the Council of State has confirmed that dozens of them were illegal. From now until June 30, 2026, in these departments, animals of these species will no longer have to endure this constant harassment. For martens, the victory is total: their very presence on the list, throughout France, has been called into question. 

ESOD: an obsolete murderous “logic” in the hot seat

For years, we and our partner associations have been denouncing the unfounded and absurd nature of the criteria used to draw up this list. No animal is inherently evil, and no species deserves to be harassed. It’s high time we abandoned these outdated reflexes and realized just how much these animals contribute to our lives, like the foxes that feed on brown rats and slow the spread of diseases such as Lyme disease. And because animals simply have the right to live for themselves.

With this decision, the Council of State has condemned this murderous logic. Criticized by certain government departments themselves, the ESOD regime is now hanging by a thread. More than ever, we will keep up the pressure to ensure that it is definitively called into question, by continuing to demand a radical reform of hunting! And we’ll keep up the fight for all animals still on the list.

Species removed from the ESOD list by the Council of State : 

• Martens: throughout France;

• Stone martens: Aveyron, Morbihan and Territoire de Belfort;

• Foxes: Aveyron, Haute-Loire and Lozère outside areas where they are likely to cause damage;

• Rooks: Nord and Pas-de-Calais;

• Carrion crows: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Hautes-Alpes, Aveyron, Bouches-du-Rhône, Haute-Loire and Vaucluse;

• Eurasian magpies: Ariège, Charente, Haute-Garonne, Gers, Maine-et-Loire, Somme and Essonne;

• European starlings: Corrèze, Meurthe-et-Moselle and Meuse;

• Eurasian jays: Corrèze and Lot-et-Garonne.

 

Haute-Savoie: goats in the Prefect’s sights

Haute-Savoie: goats in the Prefect’s sights
13.05.2025
Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie: goats in the Prefect’s sights
Wildlife

With great inventiveness (or stupidity), prefects are now even organising hunts at the authorities’ initiative for domestic animals. Yes, yes, domestic animals, all in defiance of the law. The Prefect of Haute-Savoie has ordered the slaughter of goats roaming the municipality of Passy. The only reason? An alleged risk of hybridisation with ibex. It’s like something out of a bad science fiction movie. We are challenging these two orders in summary proceedings before the Administrative Court in Grenoble to get them suspended as a matter of urgency. The hearing will take place on 20 May 2025 at 2.15 pm.

An illegal order: goats accused

A few weeks ago, the Prefect of Haute-Savoie ordered an officially appointed huntmaster to slaughter a dozen goats in the municipality of Passy… until 15 July! These “feral” goats are not wild animals –which are regularly victims of hunts at the authorities’ initiative that are often illegal. Due to a lack of vigilance on the part of their owners, they simply escaped and were going about their business without harming anyone.

The authorities fear that these goats will reproduce with ibex, which need to be “protected”. This is boundless hypocrisy, given that they authorise their slaughter in the Bargy massif to reassure cheese producers. There is no logic to this!

Slaughtering stray domestic animals: a new trend

In addition to being imposed for absurd reasons that (very) poorly conceal a hatred of life in all its forms, these two orders are simply illegal. The Prefect cannot, under any circumstances, indiscriminately slaughter stray “domestic” animals. It is up to the mayor to have them captured or, as a last resort and only in cases of “serious and imminent danger”, euthanised. But what serious and imminent danger could six escaped goats possibly pose? It’s true that goats are ferocious, everyone knows that!

This is not an isolated case: animals abandoned by humans and left to fend for themselves are increasingly targeted by the authorities who no longer even pretend to seek alternatives. This is the case with the goats of Melles and the stray dogs of Haute-Vienne and Aveyron, whose slaughter we have stopped thanks to our legal action.

Acquittal of poachers in the Cher region: One Voice appeals

Acquittal of poachers in the Cher region: One Voice appeals
12.05.2025
Cher
Acquittal of poachers in the Cher region: One Voice appeals
Wildlife

In 2023, investigators from the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) discovered a case of poaching of unimaginable brutality. Using armoured vehicles equipped with “bull bars”, hunters relentlessly hounded terrified and frightened animals. At the end of April, the Court in Châteauroux decided to acquit the six men who walked out of the court free, due to a procedural error. We are appealing this decision to the Court of Appeal in Bourges to ensure that these men do not escape justice.

A procedural irregularity… and immunity for poachers?

When it comes to finding the cruellest methods of killing animals, hunters are well versed in the practice and will use any means necessary to innovate. Pursued by 4x4s, deer and wild boars have endured years of hell at night in the heart of the Sologne forest. The lengthy investigation by the OFB revealed paths destroyed by the night-time outings of the six poachers between 2023 and 2025… Massacres orchestrated at full speed for “ever stronger sensations”.

Because hunting is a closed environment where the code of silence reigns, convictions for poaching are rare. We therefore expected an exemplary punishment for these acts of unspeakable gravity and cruelty. To everyone’s surprise, the entire proceedings were dismissed by the judges on procedural grounds, as the French Office for Biodiversity had identified the six hunters using cameras installed without the authorisation of a magistrate. The six men were released… and their guns were even returned to them.

We will meet these poachers again in the Court of Appeal!

This is a dramatic outcome and yet another example of the glaring lack of resources and training available to these officers. They are targeted by many elected officials who want to reduce their resources and disarm them, while at the same time they are responsible for monitoring hunters who are over-equipped and armed with a veritable arsenal of weapons.

To ensure that the deer, sows and their piglets who were victims of this crime are not forgotten, One Voice is appealing to the Court of Appeal in Bourges, following the prosecutor’s appeal. These acts must not go unpunished. While we wait for justice to be done, sign our petition for a radical reform on hunting!

In the Puy-de-Dôme region, the massacre of jackdaws will not go unnoticed: One Voice is filing a complaint!

In the Puy-de-Dôme region, the massacre of jackdaws will not go unnoticed: One Voice is filing a complaint!
07.05.2025
Puy-de-Dôme
In the Puy-de-Dôme region, the massacre of jackdaws will not go unnoticed: One Voice is filing a complaint!
Wildlife

On 26 and 27 April 2025, in Riom, hunters took over an entire area to kill birds near homes. Claiming to have a prefectural exemption to shoot corvids, the men went beyond all limits, targeting jackdaws which are protected species. Not to mention their disregard for basic safety rules, which put all passers-by in direct danger. We are filing a complaint and demanding the immediate suspension of the officially appointed huntmaster in charge!

Shooting anything that flies… even a protected species

After deafening gunshots, several corvids were found dying in the car park of a hotel in Riom. Hunters had, with a smile on their lips, slaughtered them on the orders of the Prefect. A hunt at the initiative of the administration – undoubtedly illegal, like so many others – organised under the authority of an officially appointed huntmaster who we believe can be identified by his uniform. This is the sad fate of black crows and rooks, which are also targeted by an ESOD classification that we have challenged in court.

But on that day, the men went further and unscrupulously shot jackdaws, which are protected and readily identified by their characteristic blue eyes and ash-grey necks. Before discreetly collecting their bodies… in front of the cameras of shocked witnesses. And this even though these birds are already the target of massive culling campaigns in Brittany, which we challenge every year, despite the many alternatives available.

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Safety, always an optional extra when it comes to killing animals

No rules were followed by these trigger-happy professionals. Less than a hundred metres from homes and next to a motorway, the lead pellets were within range of roofs and windows. The ‘hunting in progress’ signs are not enough to prevent projectiles from hitting vehicles travelling at 130 kilometres per hour.

We have already alerted the government to this outdated practice due to the mortal dangers it poses to animals and humans. In addition to these risks, it is also harmful to the environment due to the pollution generated by the ammunition.

We are filing a complaint against “persons unknown” for the killing of rooks, and are asking the Prefect of Puy-de-Dôme to immediately suspend the huntmaster responsible for this massacre. While we wait for justice to be done, sign our petition to demand a radical reform of hunting!