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Badgers in the Eure region: faced with opposition from associations, the prefect renounces officially sanctioned hunts

Badgers in the Eure region: faced with opposition from associations, the prefect renounces officially sanctioned hunts

Badgers in the Eure region: faced with opposition from associations, the prefect renounces officially sanctioned hunts
24.04.2025
Eure
Badgers in the Eure region: faced with opposition from associations, the prefect renounces officially sanctioned hunts
Wildlife

Badgers in the Eure region will get a little respite. On 12 March, the prefect ordered officially sanctioned hunts until 31 May in four municipalities. The reason given? Alleged threats to public safety which, as always, were not proven. ASPAS, AVES, FNE Normandie and One Voice immediately appealed to the Administrative Court in Rouen to have the operations suspended. In a dramatic turn of events, even before the hearing, the prefect finally revoked his order! A victory by default, just a few weeks before the start of the supplementary underground hunting season.

Is “what you don’t see won’t hurt you” the prefectures’ new strategy against badgers?

The order authorised huntsmasters to hunt for badgers in the municipalities of Étrépagny, Le Thil, Saussay-la-Campagne and Mesnil-Verclives by day and by night, and to kill them by any means necessary. This was in the middle of the birthing season, when the young were just beginning to emerge from their burrows. With their mothers killed, the still-dependent badger cubs would have been left to fend for themselves and would have died after a few days.

This time, they were accused of posing a danger to a railway line… which had been partially closed since 2003! Of course, as always, there was not a shred of evidence. In 2024, we had already obtained the suspension in the department of the supplementary underground hunting season, as the prefecture had been unable to prove the pseudo-damage it accused the badgers of causing.

The repeal of the order a few days before the hearing is worrying evidence of the prefectures’ strategy: to pass orders that they know are illegal, hoping that we will not spot them.

On the eve of the supplementary unearthing season, it’s time for a general mobilisation in favour of badgers!

In 2023 and 2024, we achieved historic victories against spring and summer unearthing. Decision after decision, the judges have affirmed that, until they reach sexual maturity, badgers are protected by law. Unearthing puts them directly in danger. And the fight is paying off: while in 2020, 72 departments authorised this practice as from 15 May, by 2024 there were only 19!

However, the relentless pressure from hunters and prefects continues. Once again, this year, in several departments, the authorities are preparing to authorise this cruel pastime as from 15 May. They will find us standing in their way, speaking out on behalf of these architects of the underground who only desire to live in peace.

Our four associations are now asking the Administrative Court in Rouen to confirm the illegality of this order and to send a clear message to the prefects. In the meantime, please sign our petitions for a ban on unearthing and for a radical reform of hunting.

Parliamentary report on pastoralism: wolf attacks on livestock are decreasing

Parliamentary report on pastoralism: wolf attacks on livestock are decreasing

Parliamentary report on pastoralism: wolf attacks on livestock are decreasing
25.04.2025
Parliamentary report on pastoralism: wolf attacks on livestock are decreasing
Wildlife

In its report on pastoralism published in early April 2025, the National Assembly acknowledges that, despite the growth of the wolf population in France, attacks on livestock have decreased in recent years. Killing these animals was never the solution. We once again call for the implementation of appropriate protective measures and for coexistence.

Wherever wolves are present, farmers’ unions portray them as bloodthirsty monsters and demand their extermination, as in the case of Milo and Mina who were relentlessly hunted on the Millevaches plateau. And whenever the prefectures do not allow as many of them to be killed as their detractors would have liked, the latter do not hesitate to encourage poaching. With the sheep soon to leave the plains for the mountains, wolves are more than ever in the crosshairs of those who want them dead. Yet they are far from being the danger we are led to believe.

A text that sets the record straight

On 9 April, the National Assembly published an information report on “the role of pastoralism in land use planning, the causes of its decline and the consequences for the sustainable development of rural areas”. Even while defending this farming method, MPs were unable to refute the figures. Contrary to what the unions would have us believe:

Wolf attacks have not increased in proportion to the increase in the number of individuals and […] rather tend to decrease slightly in absolute terms, perhaps showing the beginning of the effectiveness of protective measures. National Assembly information report

From 2018 to 2021, the number of animals injured or killed fell from 12,331 to 10,900. These losses, incidentally, represent less than 0.15% of the sheep population in France, while those due to other causes (transport accidents, falls, disease, etc.) are ten times higher.

To reinforce this downward trend, better protection of flocks is essential. We keep repeating this, and on this point too, the elected representatives agree with us. They point out that in 2024, if attacks and animals injured or killed have increased in regions where wolves have only recently appeared, it is “mainly due to the weakness of the protective measures which do not yet exist or are only just being put in place, and because shooting operations are not always very effective”.

Instead of persecuting these animals, achieving nothing more than to disperse the packs, or seeking to establish the presumed non-protectability of cattle in an absurd ministerial decree against which we have just lodged an appeal, the government would do better to finally anticipate the arrival of wolves.

Pastoralism is riding roughshod over nature

Before designating canids as the enemies of our countryside, the livestock lobby ought to put its own house in order. Now largely industrialised, pastoralism no longer bears any resemblance to the idyllic image it touts. Between soil erosion, flood risks, deforestation, degradation of water quality, wild animals driven from their territories due to insufficient resources, etc., grazing poses a real threat to the environment, as demonstrated by a report by two scientists specialising in conservation. And to preserve this deadly industry at all costs, we would also have to slaughter wild animals and destroy what little unspoilt nature remains which we humans so desperately need? We will not accept this!

If, like 81% of French people (Ipsos/One Voice survey, November 2024), you recognise that the return of wolves to France is a real boon for biodiversity, sign our petition to put an end to the persecution they are suffering!

The CNRS and the pharmaceutical industry are contributing to the disappearance of macaques

The CNRS and the pharmaceutical industry are contributing to the disappearance of macaques

The CNRS and the pharmaceutical industry are contributing to the disappearance of macaques
France
The CNRS and the pharmaceutical industry are contributing to the disappearance of macaques
Animal testing

Highly sought after by the biomedical industry, long-tailed macaques were classified as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2022.

However, in France, the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) is planning to expand the primatology station in Rousset into a National Primatology Centre, thereby fuelling the trafficking and decline of this species. This project condemns hundreds of monkeys to captivity and experimentation. There is still time to act: let’s work together to reject this dangerous initiative and protect these endangered primates.

Always more experiments, even at the expense of biodiversity

Long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis), also known as “crab-eating macaques” or “cynomolgus”, have become sadly famous since the Covid-19 epidemic. Today, they account for 80% of primates used in the pharmaceutical industry. Ranked among the most sold animals in the world, they are exploited on a massive scale in the field of toxicology.

Their trade is fuelled by demand from laboratories, particularly in France, one of the main importers of primates for experimentation. As our investigations in Mauritius have shown, thousands of monkeys are bred there and exported each year to European laboratories. Captured, caged and transported over long distances, these primates are victims of widespread exploitation that threatens their survival and fuels a cruel and opaque trade.

Lobbies on the defensive

Following the IUCN* classification of the species as endangered, our partner Peta USA is working to have long-tailed macaques listed under the Endangered Species Act in the United States. Meanwhile, the American National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR) is fighting to have their status revised so that they may continue to be exploited without restriction, on the pretext that their use is “crucial to medicine”.

Whether or not they are officially classified as endangered, all macaque species are in decline. Deforestation, capture for trade, exploitation in laboratories: these primates are under increasing pressure, with their survival being threatened.

As a picture is worth a thousand words…

But despite these risks to their survival, the pharmaceutical industry is not backing down, and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) is not ready to give up on the sacrosanct monkey…

The CNRS, a major contributor to their decline

One Voice has long been alerting the public authorities to the threat to long-tailed macaques, now classified as endangered by the IUCN. However, far from protecting these animals, the CNRS is contributing to their disappearance by fuelling the international trade in primates. By importing hundreds of monkeys for its future national primatology centre, it is directly involved in a trafficking that is decimating wild populations. It is time for France to take action to protect them.

Let’s say no to the National Primatology Centre and the use of macaques in experimentation!

Help us make the authorities see reason: sign our petition against the expansion of the Rousset station into a national primatology centre and oppose their use in laboratories!

Take action with us

24 April is World Day for Animals in Laboratories. On this occasion, we are mobilising for macaques throughout France: join us, especially on Saturday 26 April in Rousset.

 

* Intergovernmental organisation dedicated to nature conservation, responsible for drawing up a ‘Red List’ of threatened species worldwide.

When the CNRS’ primatology station in Rousset took in monkeys from zoos and circuses

When the CNRS’ primatology station in Rousset took in monkeys from zoos and circuses

When the CNRS’ primatology station in Rousset took in monkeys from zoos and circuses
24.04.2025
Rousset, Bouches-Du-Rhône
When the CNRS’ primatology station in Rousset took in monkeys from zoos and circuses
Animal testing

As part of our opposition to the expansion of the primatology station in Rousset (13790), located in the Bouches-du-Rhône region, with a view to transforming it into a national centre, we contacted the CNRS. They sent us some documents that were disturbing, to say the least…

In addition to the many monkeys that are being passed from test to test between French laboratories, there are also primates from zoos and circuses that have been torn from their natural environment?! So this is what the hidden side of French research looks like?!

Circuses and zoos love their animals so much that they offer them up to science

When they no longer need them after years of lining their pockets at their expense, they send them to laboratories. For some, there is no hesitating: between rehabilitation and pushing their exploitation to the extreme, the choice is obvious.

Circuses and zoos love their animals so much that they offer them up to science

When they no longer need them after years of lining their pockets at their expense, they send them to laboratories. For some, there is no hesitating: between rehabilitation and pushing their exploitation to the extreme, the choice is obvious.

Never released, always reused

Monkeys travel like parcels from one centre of experimentation to another. Loaned, exchanged, manipulated, for the humans who work there, only their utilitarian value counts. They are simply considered as experimental material. Females in particular, seen as breeding machines, have their bodies exploited twice: in tests and for their wombs.

Primates illegally captured in their natural habitat?

“Unknown origin”: a convenient phrase to avoid having to write “torn from their forest” or “taken from their families”.

These practices, although prohibited by European Directive 2010/63/EU, continue to exist, as our investigation in the summer of 2023 clearly demonstrated.

To call for an end to these practices and a review of the National Primatology Centre project, join us on Saturday 26 April 2025 in front of Town Hall in Rousset and throughout France!

New pictures of monkeys reveal the reality behind Camarney SL and animal testing

New pictures of monkeys reveal the reality behind Camarney SL and animal testing

New pictures of monkeys reveal the reality behind Camarney SL and animal testing
23.04.2025
Espagne
New pictures of monkeys reveal the reality behind Camarney SL and animal testing
Animal testing

Our partner Abolición Vivisección has sent us new photos showing the reality of Camarney SL in Camarles (Tarragona, Spain). This is the largest primate distribution and experimentation centre in Europe. Since 2003, it has imported more than 30,000 long-tailed macaques from Mauritius, and more than 7,000 from Vietnam.

The macaques are captured and transported from their country of origin to Camarney, crammed into small transit crates. The conditions of these appalling transports, which can last up to two days, mean that many of them do not survive. Once in Camarney, the macaques are caged until they are sent to other laboratories where they are “used”, or “sacrificed” because they cannot be “sold” to other laboratories.

Despite Camarney’s long list of irregularities and negligence, the evidence of illegal trafficking of long-tailed macaques, and the fact that these were declared endangered in 2022, the Generalitat of Catalonia has continued to allow Camarney to continue its “activity”, and the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge has continued to authorise the importation of thousands of macaques destined for slaughter.

These new pictures show that the macaques locked up at Camarney remain in deplorable and unsanitary conditions and are subjected to mistreatment. Even before being “used” in an experiment, they suffer serious injuries, lesions, diseases and even mutilations, which further aggravate the consequences of the experiments. These pictures are not an isolated case in Europe; they are further proof of the way Europe’s largest primate centre operates and of the cruelty and suffering that lie behind animal experimentation.

For all these reasons, together with Abolición Vivisección, we once again call on the Generalitat of Catalonia to immediately suspend Camarney’s activities and take urgent measures to close it down permanently.

We strongly condemn the trade in long-tailed macaques for animal testing. Every year, thousands of these animals are taken from their natural environment or bred in intensive farms in Asia and Mauritius. Packed into cramped crates for long hours of transport, they suffer extreme stress. We would like to remind everyone that beyond their current classification as an “endangered” species, behind each individual lies a story of suffering that no one should ignore. Muriel Arnal President and founder of the association One Voice This incredibly thin and sick macaque is missing a piece of its tail. The tail of a long-tailed macaque is not only a beautiful part of their body, it also has a function. It helps them to keep its balance when moving quickly through the treetops and acts as a rudder when swimming. Their tails are also incredibly expressive, curling over their backs when they are alert and excited. This devastated monkey has not only lost a piece of their tail. They seem to have lost the will or ability to live. Lisa Jones-Engel Primatologist, Senior Scientific Advisor, PETA The images leaked from Camarney reflect what animal welfare organisations across Europe have been denouncing for years: animals mistreated, kept in appalling conditions, fed inadequate diets, with deep wounds treated in inappropriate facilities and under unacceptable hygienic conditions. What these images reveal is beyond imagination and cannot be ignored: macaques being ridiculed for selfies, treated like worthless objects. This is what happens in one of the main macaque facilities supplying “prestigious” animal testing laboratories across Europe. It is time to put an end to this horrific practice. Legal action is not only necessary but essential to ensure that these atrocities do not continue without accountability. Valeria Albanese Primatologist, Head of the Animal-Free Research Department at LAV (Lega Anti Vivisezione) The pictures obtained inside Camarney strikingly show the actual treatment that animals receive in these premises. Animal experimentation is, by its very nature, an act of cruelty. Some of the practices revealed by these images may be considered commonplace; others go beyond commonly tolerated abuse. In any case, they are unjustifiable and should be recognised for what they really are: physical and psychological abuse and torture inflicted on sentient living beings. In the 21st century, this archaic and obsolete way of approaching science should be unacceptable to us — and the looks on the faces of the macaques in these images should be unbearable. We should not allow this to continue for another minute, for the sake of these animals’ suffering and for the dignity of our own species. Dr. Núria Almiron Co-director of the UPF Centre for Animal Ethics Long-tailed macaques are wild animals with highly developed cognitive, emotional and communication skills. They are also very sociable beings that form deep bonds with each other. Confining these animals to a totally artificial environment governed by human rules, which bears no resemblance to the ecosystems to which their abilities are adapted, is a source of confusion and discomfort to them. Locking them up in tiny cages, manipulating them, imposing a way of life that is not their own, causes mental and emotional suffering, as well as fear and stress. The fear and stress experienced by these animals can lead to health problems that distort the results of the scientific studies being conducted on them. These animals belong in their ecosystems, where they perform important ecological functions. Scientific research should be conducted using animal-free methods which are more ethical as well as more effective. Marta Tafalla Professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, member of the Animal Ethics Centre at Pompeu Fabra University

Interview: Sophie Noël, an author committed to One Voice

Interview: Sophie Noël, an author committed to One Voice

Interview: Sophie Noël, an author committed to One Voice
22.04.2025
Interview: Sophie Noël, an author committed to One Voice
Wildlife

Published in March 2025, Le Serment de l’Homme Rouge (The Red Man’s Oath), which tells the story of a young boy discovering the reality of orangutans falling victim to deforestation, marks the beginning of a collaboration between the publishing house Éditions Evalou and One Voice. For every book purchased in the “Lectures animalistes” collection, one euro will be donated to our fight for animal rights. An interview with Sophie Noël, author of this first adventure novel for teenagers and adults, a true call to defend wildlife from human activities.

  • You were a schoolteacher, then you became a novelist more than ten years ago. How would you describe your career path and how would you describe yourself as an author?

My grandmother bought me a little notebook when I was eight years old, and from that moment on I never stopped writing. Twelve or thirteen years ago, I gave up my job as a primary school teacher to follow a training course, and I turned a story I had written into a novel. I sent it to some publishers, without really believing it would work. But it did. I took the risk of becoming an author because it was another way of conveying my values of humanism, ecology, respect for the animal world, respect for people…

  • So would you describe yourself as a committed author?

Yes, I would. There are several themes that are close to my heart. In particular, I talk about accepting differences and rejecting racism… because my two adopted daughters are from Haiti and have black skin. I also have a very deep commitment to ecology and animal welfare. I convey these values in my stories. There is always something about showing animals as sentient beings, something that can help people understand that animals are just as valuable as we are. In all my books, even those whose general theme is not animal rights, there is always a little message in favour of animals.

  • You published Le Serment de l’Homme Rouge (The Red Man’s Oath) with Éditions Evalou. What is the story about?

It’s the story of a young boy, Kali, who lives in Paris and goes on holiday to Indonesia to visit his grandparents. There, with a girl his own age, he discovers his great-grandfather’s diary, in which he made a vow to the Red Man. “The Red Man” in Indonesian is the orangutan. So Kali, with his friend Kirana, wants to keep the promise his great-grandfather made, and he becomes an activist. They discover animal trafficking and commit themselves to fighting against deforestation and for the protection of animals, particularly orangutans in the Indonesian jungle.

  • Why was it important for you to write about wild animals that are victims of human activity, and in this case, about orangutans that are victims of deforestation?

Orangutans are in Indonesia, we are in France: we are not very aware of them because we don’t see them. I thought we needed to talk about it because it’s far away from us, and at the same time very close because it concerns us, because we use palm oil although we shouldn’t. All of these are important causes and effects, and there’s also an empathetic side to it. Not just with orangutans, who resemble us because they are apes, but with all animals, for whom we must have empathy in order to understand and protect them better. I think that’s our role as humans.

  • You support One Voice in two ways: by choosing Éditions Evalou and through your personal donations to our association. How did you decide to get involved with us and why do you continue to support our fight for animals today?

You do what I don’t have time to do, and I need to help you to make this commitment a reality. What’s more, I think what you do is fabulous: you’re out in the field, you’re courageous, I find that incredible, I admire you greatly. The only way I can support you, for the moment at least, is by making donations. I was very proud and honoured when Evalou told me that part of the proceeds from the sale of my book would go to your association.

  • What message would you like to convey to those who read Le Serment de l’Homme Rouge?

The message I would like to convey is the importance of helping them, of not consuming palm oil, for example. Above all, it is an awareness that we are all connected: animals, humans, and the environment. And because we are the ones who decide – unfortunately, because that’s the way it is, we probably think we are superior – the fate of many animals is in our hands. So we must do everything we can: it could be a small donation, a little book, a commitment to go to the end of the earth and to try to help them there, whatever it takes: every little gesture helps the animal cause.

Macaques imported from Africa and Asia at the heart of the animal testing statistics for 2023

Macaques imported from Africa and Asia at the heart of the animal testing statistics for 2023

Macaques imported from Africa and Asia at the heart of the animal testing statistics for 2023 17.04.2025
France
Macaques imported from Africa and Asia at the heart of the animal testing statistics for 2023
Animal testing

The animal testing statistics for 2023 have just been released, and the situation looks bleak for primates, especially macaques. While the authorities claim they want to restrict their use, the data tells a very different story: most of them originate from countries outside the European Union, often without any traceability. Even more worrying is the increasing use of monkeys whose parents were captured in the wild. Behind the reassuring reports, this practice is intensifying. One Voice analyses the official figures.

Long-tailed macaques, an endangered species, at the centre of experimentation

In 2023, 3,459 non-human primates were used in animal experiments in France. Among them:

  • 3,077 cynomolgus macaques (long-tailed macaques)
  • 275 marmosets
  • 24 rhesus macaques
  • 36 prosimians
  • 8 squirrel monkeys
  • 39 baboons

The capture of monkeys, particularly long-tailed macaques, contributes significantly to their classification as ‘endangered’ by the IUCN. These already threatened species find themselves on the front line in Western laboratories.

The persistent use of first-generation primates

According to a report published by the European Commission in 2017, the use of first-generation primates born in captivity (known as ‘F1’, born to parents captured in the wild) was to be banned from November 2022. However, the practice continues… and is intensifying.

In spite of all the fine words and reports expressing good intentions, the reality on the ground remains unchanged. Not only does the use of ‘F1’ macaques continue, but it is increasing every year:

  • In 2021, 639 ‘F1’ primates were used
  • In 2022, 946
  • In 2023, 958

And that’s not all: of the 3,101 macaques (cynomolgus and rhesus) used in 2023, 1,022 simply have no declared origin. This lack of traceability reveals serious flaws in a system that is supposed to be strictly regulated.

Massive dependence on non-European imports

Only 29 macaques used in France in 2023 come from approved breeding facilities within the EU — barely 0.94% of the total. The rest?

  • 1,619 come from Africa (52%)
  • 431 from Asia (13%)
  • And for 1,022 individuals, no information is available on their geographical origin or generation (captive or wild).

A third of the primates used are therefore shrouded in administrative fog, in total contradiction with the promises of transparency. Our investigation in Mauritius has already revealed the grey areas of this international trade.

A national primatology centre: the wrong answer

Faced with this dependence, the CNRS is considering creating a national primatology centre to produce “half of the monkeys needed by French laboratories”. But this project is causing serious concern.

Rather than increasing the number of breeding facilities, shouldn’t we be enforcing existing regulations, improving traceability and, above all, investing in ethical and European alternatives that are already available? This project seems to ignore the scientific, ethical and legal issues raised by mass importation of primates. We are therefore organising a joint rally with our partners on 26 April in Rousset in the Bouches-du-Rhône region.

Let’s demand an end to experimentation on macaques!

Sign the petition against the expansion of the Rousset laboratory, and demand an immediate moratorium on the use of macaques in laboratories.

To learn more about the fate of primates in experimentation, see our detailed report.

Still more than 2,000,000 animals used in experiments: One Voice analyses the data for 2023

Still more than 2,000,000 animals used in experiments: One Voice analyses the data for 2023

Still more than 2,000,000 animals used in experiments: One Voice analyses the data for 2023
17.04.2025
France
Still more than 2,000,000 animals used in experiments: One Voice analyses the data for 2023
Animal testing

Bad habits die hard: once again, the publication of animal testing statistics was long overdue. We’ve had to wait until 14 April 2025 for the Ministry to send us the files for 2023, before they were officially posted online two days later…

Unfortunately, the situation remains unchanged: the threshold of 2 million animals used has once again been crossed. Although there was a decrease of 81,304 individuals in 2023, it is so small that there is little cause for celebration.

Behind this apparent stability lies a much more worrying situation: a persistent lack of transparency, unjustified reuse, avoidable suffering… On the eve of World Day for Animals in Laboratories, with around twenty awareness-raising events organised by the association throughout France, One Voice analyses the figures.

A symbolic bar that shows no sign of falling

For more than a decade, the number of animals used each year in French laboratories has stagnated at around 2 million.

In 2023, 2,046,754 individuals were subjected to experiments.

Fundamental research remains the main area concerned, with 629,007 uses, followed by the maintenance of genetically modified lines (491,778), regulatory testing (449,740), applied research (390,046), conservation activities (50,445) and training (35,738).

The figures for primates are presented in a specific focus.

A surge in the number of animals for genetically modified lines

One figure stands out: the number for maintenance of genetically modified lines which more than doubled in one year, from 225,435 in 2022 to 491,778 in 2023. This now represents 24% of the total number of animals used. This spectacular increase shows not only the scale of this practice, but also the slow reflection of reality in official data.

This increase stems from the application of a new European guide making it compulsory to report practices that were not previously recorded in our country (a notable difference from our neighbours, which we had already denounced), such as tail or paw amputations. Originally scheduled for 2021, the French implementation was delayed.

This statistical correction reveals a reality that has been ignored for years: hundreds of thousands of animals were subjected to these practices in the shadows. France is lagging far behind on this issue, since the European Commission’s “implementing decision” making reporting mandatory dates back to 2020 and should have been implemented in 2021.

Mice in the front line

Of the animals used, 1,387,275 are mice, representing well over half:

  • 138,848 underwent procedures classified as severe
  • 525,189 underwent experiments classified as moderate

Some of these ‘moderate’ practices include the implantation of intracranial devices or the induction of cancer, which raises questions about the classification of levels of suffering which are generally underestimated.

Mice also represent the majority of animals used to maintain genetically modified lines (470,114 out of 491,778, or 95.5%), alongside dogs, rats and zebrafish.

Dogs: a worrying increase and grey areas

The number of dogs used rose from 3,961 to 4,107 in 2023.

  • Only 1,788 came from EU-approved breeding facilities
  • 819 were born outside the EU, with no clear traceability
  • 1,487 were reused, with no data available

Our investigations into French breeding farms, particularly in Mézilles (Yonne) and Gannat (Allier), reveal appalling living conditions, even within France.

In addition, 2,555 dogs were used in toxicity tests or drug production.

Rabbits: ongoing suffering despite recognised alternatives

Rabbits are the second most commonly used species in experimentation, accounting for around 9% of animals.

In 2023:

  • 5,161 underwent the pyrogenicity test, designed to detect the presence of bacteria via a painful injection.
  • 70 were exposed to the Draize test, in which irritants are applied to the eyes.

These tests are extremely painful and outdated, especially since alternative methods have been recognised for years (and the Council of Europe supports the discontinuation of the pyrogenicity test).

The Monocyte Activation Test (MAT), for example, measures inflammatory responses using human cells in culture, without the use of animals. Validated by the EMA since 2010, this method remains underused.

Less severe suffering, really?

On the surface, there appears to be progress: procedures classified as severe have fallen from 244,710 in 2022 to 191,046 in 2023, representing 9% of the total.

However, when moderate and severe procedures are combined, the number of animals involved still exceeds one million (1,006,458).

The “moderate” classification seems to be becoming a catch-all, with the risk of masking the real severity of certain practices.

One Voice continues to request non-technical summaries of approved projects to enable independent and transparent verification.

Behind a deceptive numerical stability, and even though the trend should be towards a decline in order to meet the criteria of the European directive, the 2023 figures confirm worrying trends:

  • An increase in the use of dogs
  • A surge in the number of animals for modified lines
  • The continuation of obsolete and painful tests despite reliable, animal-free alternatives

France remains behind in terms of transparency and the transition to more ethical methods, even though three quarters of French people are in favour of ending animal testing (One Voice/Ipsos, April 2023).

The fight continues. One Voice is calling for an immediate change of course towards cruelty-free science. Support us by signing our petitions!

Demonstration on April, 26th against the expansion of the primatology station in Rousset (France)

Demonstration on April, 26th against the expansion of the primatology station in Rousset (France)

Demonstration on April, 26th against the expansion of the primatology station in Rousset (France)
17.04.2025
Rousset, Bouches-Du-Rhône
Demonstration on April, 26th against the expansion of the primatology station in Rousset (France)
Animal testing

On the occasion of the World Day for Laboratory Animals, One Voice and the CVPA-Collectif Vauclusien de Protection Animale are organising a joint demonstration on Saturday April, 26th 2025 from 1.45pm in front of the Rousset town hall (France) to oppose the project to expand the CNRS primatology station and increase the number of primates destined for laboratories.

At a time when research across many fields is moving beyond animal experimentation and alternative methods are proving increasingly, the CNRS is investing heavily in extending its primatology station at Rousset, 16 km from Aix-en-Provence.

The aim? To transform the station into a national primatology centre, tripling its capacity. The site would be expanded from 600 to 1,740 primates (baboons, macaques, squirrel monkeys and marmosets) destined for use in French laboratories. 

A public tender for the expansion work has already been issued.

This project, costing over €30 million and funded by taxpayers, goes against the European Directive 2010/63/EU, which promotes ‘the total replacement of procedures applied to live animals for scientific or educational purposes, as soon as scientifically possible’.

Let’s recall that three quarters of French citizens are opposed to animal experimentation, 81% are opposed to experiments on primates and 80% support the closure of primate breeding facilities in France.

Does it still make sense to launch such a breeding project in 2025 knowing that its construction will not be completed before 2030 and that it will then take a further 4 to 5 years to ‘produce’ enough primates for a demand that will likely have shifted by then?

We strongly doubt it. This is why One Voice and the Collectif Vauclusien de Protection Animale, supported by more than fifty national and international organisations (associations, collectives, foundations, parties, etc.), will gather on  April,26th from 1.45pm to voice two demands:

  • an ethical, scientific and economic assessment of the relevance of the extension project by an independent committee,
  • the reallocation of public funds towards innovative animal-free research methods.

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“Goose neck” game: it’s time for Arfeuilles to give up cruelty

“Goose neck” game: it’s time for Arfeuilles to give up cruelty

“Goose neck” game: it’s time for Arfeuilles to give up cruelty
16.04.2025
Allier
“Goose neck” game: it’s time for Arfeuilles to give up cruelty
Exploitation for shows

Already denounced by One Voice in 2023, the village of Arfeuilles, in the Allier region, continues to include the goose neck game in its summer festivities. In the name of the geese sacrificed and the children exposed to this barbarity, we call on the municipality to turn away from these sinister beheadings, following the example of the choices made in Saint-Bonnet-Près-Riom and most recently by the mayor of Lesmont.

A tradition that needs to evolve…

This is far from the first time that the goose neck game organized in Arfeuilles has scandalized citizens and animal defenders. Already in 2014, a petition describing the practice as “a disgrace” to the village had garnered over 42,000 signatures.

Affected by the health crisis, the event did not take place from 2020 to 2022. There was hope: three years is enough time to reflect, to ask oneself whether beheading geese, perched on a galloping horse, is really the best way to cheer up a village. The events committee could have taken advantage of this opportunity to innovate and reinvent its famous patron saint’s festival… but it preferred not to change a thing. Worse still, the protests clearly taught them nothing. When it comes to animal welfare and public opinion, they simply don’t think.

…to protect animals and children 

In 2023, we denounced the revival of this bloody piñata, attended by children. Barely taller than the fences on which the adults were leaning, how did they feel at the sight of these dead geese hanging by their legs, their throats violently slit? What message are they getting, except that animals deserve no respect, and that the worst mutilations are something to be applauded?

This nonsense has to stop. Once again this year, a whistle-blower has warned us that the goose-neck game will be held in Arfeuilles on August 15, under the guise of “equestrian shows”. We expect the municipality to finally put an end to this tradition, which it would benefit from replacing with a non-violent activity, as Saint-Bonnet-près-Riom and Lesmont have done.

For the geese, rabbits, chickens and ducks targeted every year, sign our petition to demand a nationwide ban on this practice.

Illustration photo from our images at Saint-Bonnet-Près-Riom in 2023