France: €10,000 to find man who hanged two foxes

The gruesome discovery of two foxes hanging from the entrance sign of a village in Saône-et-Loire earlier in the week sparked outrage among animal rights activists, including the association One Voice, which launched a call for witnesses. A reward of 10,000 euros.

On Monday, residents of Tracy-Saint-Loup, a rural town of 625 people, found the carcasses of canines hanging from a location sign. According to the town hall, the latter were quickly removed by gendarmes and an investigation was opened. The act, which was deemed a “disgrace” by the unnamed mayor Jean-Claude Lhoste, drew the ire of many associations and activists for the protection of animals and biodiversity.

Among these, One Voice launched an appeal, promising to “pay a sum of 10,000 euros to those who send concrete information to properly identify those responsible for these acts (…)”. “This information will then be forwarded to the state attorney as part of the union’s complaint,” One Voice added in a press release issued Tuesday. According to the association, on the law relating to poaching and illegal dumping of “waste” on public highways, “beyond the brutality of this arena, these acts are criminal offences”.

One Voice’s call for witnesses has been the target of heavy criticism on social media, particularly from poachers’ advocates. Or internet users questioning the merits of offering a hefty bonus just in time for Restos du Cœur to reopen their doors for the winter.

For his part, the mayor regrets the bad publicity given to the village of Dracy-Saint-Loup, located 8 km (middle east) from Autun. “I like people talking about my village, but not in this way,” he lamented. “There are still things to tell about Tracy, such as the construction of the greenway for the sheep,” he said.

Every year, between 600,000 and one million foxes are killed in France by shooting or as part of hunting, digging, trapping and management drives, according to the Society for the Protection of Wild Animals. Since the 2019 decree, they are among the “vulnerable species”, especially because of the diseases they can spread.

Outside of hunting seasons, pines may be trapped or dug year-round, or killed on poultry land or with prefectural authorization. Associations dispute this classification, particularly praising their ecological virtues in controlling rodents, which cause damage to crops and carry other diseases.