Published on November 8th 2018 at 7:00am
Following the cancellation, for a procedural violation, of the so-called "delphinarium" decree of May 2017 which destined these parks to an unavoidable eventual closure in time, by prohibiting the reproduction in captivity and the exchanges and imports of new cetaceans, a new order was expected. After formal notice, One Voice attacks the State for misconduct because it refuses to republish an identical decree on the subject, and we claim €500,000 for moral damages. The present regulation, which is totally obsolete, dates from 1981.
In
May 2017, Ségolène Royal then Minister of Ecology had adopted the
so-called "dolphinarium" decree, which put an end to, among
other things, the captive breeding of cetaceans, and prohibited the
exchange and importation of new marine mammals, In the end, One Voice
condemned the delphinariums to close. One Voice congratulated the
position taken in favour of these animals.
But
in January 2018, the Council of State cancelled the decree due to a
technical detail: the decree had only been submitted to two public
consultations. For the State Council, it would have required a third.
Between
the cancellation and September 2018, Nicolas Hulot, Minister of the
Ecologically and Solidarity Transition, however opposed to the
captivity of the animals as he announced this on France Inter in
August 2017. He did not publish the decree repeating the substance
from the previous one about dolphinariums, despite the announcements
and the repeated requests from One Voice and its partners (Sea
Shepherd France, Cetacean-Networks, Dolphin Connection).
We
called on the Minister of the Ecologically and Solidarity Transition
to issue a new decree banning the reproduction and trade of
cetaceans.
Without
a response from him, One Voice brought an action for misconduct
against the State in the face of his refusal to take a new order. We
ask the State 500 000 € for the moral damage caused by this
deficiency. The state is at fault. From the moment he recognized that
dolphins and killer whales were suffering, why did he not take a new
order?
The
decree regulating dolphinaria in France currently dates from 1981*.
International scientific knowledge and animal rights in France have
changed in 37 years!
The 500 000 € in damages
claimed from the State will be entirely dedicated to the creation of
a marine sanctuary to accommodate captive dolphins from
dolphinariums.
* to which is added the specific section on cetaceans in the 2004 decree governing zoological parks.
