Pomponette the cat, killed by a trap: One Voice files a complaint
Her name was Pomponette. A gentle, much-loved, peaceful cat. On Tuesday 19 May, at 7 pm, the children of her family, who had gone out to look for her, found her caught in a trap, her ribcage crushed, lifeless. Pomponette joins the long list of domestic, wild and protected animals that have fallen victim to the devices used by hunters and trappers, which maim, strangle and kill. Faced with this cruel and silent death, we refuse to remain silent. We have lodged a complaint on Pomponette’s behalf. One Voice also referred the matter to the Council of State in late 2025 to have the traps banned.
Pomponette rarely went out. She loved her home. She loved her family. Nothing in her peaceful life suggested she was destined to meet her end on a familiar path. For this homebody cat, the likelihood of being caught in a trap should have been zero. It was not. Because in France, the instruments of torture favoured by hunters are not confined to so-called ‘wild’ areas: they also infest the vicinity of gardens and the paths taken every day by animals out for a stroll.
Pomponette’s final moments
Pomponette left home on 18 May. The next day, she hadn’t returned, and this unusual absence was enough: her family immediately began searching for her. It was the children who discovered her body near a wire fence separating two properties. The shock was such that the police were initially called in response to a report of children in distress. At the scene, some adults had the presence of mind to photograph the scene. It was a wise move. When the police arrived the following day, the body and the trap had vanished. Instead, a stone was blocking the hole beneath the wire fence.
During the investigation, the landowners initially claimed to know nothing, before admitting the facts when confronted with the photographic evidence. According to their statements, the trap was intended for a fox to protect their henhouse. The veterinary report is unequivocal. Pomponette showed ‘signs of crushing to the thorax and pulmonary haemorrhages’. The conclusion is crystal clear: ‘death by crushing of the ribcage, resulting in fatal asphyxiation’. Clinical terms that struggle to mask a brutal reality: Pomponette died in agony, alone, far from her family.
One million victims every year
Despite hunters’ claims to the contrary, traps do not choose their victims. And even if they did: invisible and concealed, these indiscriminate weapons snap shut on a cat’s paw, strangle a harmless fox, or kill a protected species such as wolves.
Ubellule was just 17 months old when a jaw trap – a type of trap that has been banned in Europe since 1995 – crushed her paw. Tigrou, for his part, did not survive. And then there are also Cooper, Snooky, Collier Rouge, Mani… and so many others for whom One Voice has filed a complaint each time.
How many animals die in this way every year? How many suffer for hours on end, locked in a cage, with a paw trapped in a snare or a noose, in the grip of indescribable terror? There are no national statistics to tell us this, but hunters and trappers conceal them wherever they please, and the number of victims is estimated to be around one million each year.
Pomponette is dead, and we have filed a complaint on her behalf. Because if nothing changes, others will die tomorrow. At the end of 2025, One Voice referred the matter to the Council of State. Together, let’s put an end to these practices from a bygone era. Sign our petition to ban all traps.
To ban traps, sign the petition!
Pomponette the cat, killed by a trap: One Voice files a complaint
Caught in a metal snare, Pomponette died of suffocation. One Voice has filed a complaint.
Un million de victimes chaque année
Malgré les discours des chasseurs prétendant le contraire, les pièges ne choisissent pas leurs victimes. Et quand bien même : invisibles et dissimulées, ces armes aveugles se referment sur la patte d’un chat, étranglent un renard inoffensif, tuent une espèce protégée telle que les loups.
Ubellule n’avait que 17 mois quand un piège à mâchoire – des pièges pourtant interdits en Europe depuis 1995 – lui a broyé la patte. Tigrou, lui, n’a pas survécu. Et puis il y a aussi Cooper, Snooky, Collier Rouge, Mani… et tant d’autres pour lesquels One Voice a porté plainte à chaque fois.
Combien d’animaux meurent ainsi chaque année ? Combien agonisent des heures durant, enfermés dans une cage, la patte coincée dans un collet ou un lacet, en proie à une terreur indescriptible ? Aucune statistique nationale ne permet de le savoir, mais les chasseurs-piégeurs les cachent où bon leur semble et les victimes avoisineraient le million chaque année.
Pomponette est morte et en son nom nous avons porté plainte. Car si rien ne change, d’autres mourront demain. Fin 2025, One Voice a saisi le Conseil d’État. Ensemble, faisons cesser ces pratiques d’un autre âge. Signez notre pétition pour l’interdiction de tous les pièges.