A group of activists stepped out with rabbit masks, banners reading “Save the Rabbits,” “Prefecture, soldiers, and hunters hand in hand,” fake blood, and a megaphone. “We call on the French Army to stop killing rabbits,” they chant.
On Friday afternoon, the indefatigable PAZ activists, who defend animal rights in Paris, staged a small “happening” under the windows of the general, in front of the courtyard of the Invalides, amidst bronze cannons and Napoléon’s tomb.
The event surprised passersby. The war between the two sides, the activist and the military, has been going on for five years, resulting in about ten episodes that have even gone to court. PAZ has managed to overturn four prefectural orders.
At the heart of this conflict is a colony of European rabbits, the largest in the capital after the one in the Bois de Boulogne, inhabited by 250 to 300 individuals according to the police prefecture, which played on the lawns of this historical site that is classified as a monument under the watch of the soldiers of Operation Sentinel. And especially under the amused gaze of tourists coming out of the Museum of the Army. On sunny days, the challenge was to capture the scene by lying on the grass to take a selfie with the pair of ears sticking out. The soldiers, however, were much less amused, as the animals were ruining the lawns and nibbling on the cables and hoses.
It was during the Christmas season that another episode of the war was triggered. The police prefecture initiated “a secret consultation,” denounced by PAZ. The State services then issued a decree sealing the fate of the rabbits. “A low blow,” according to the activists.
The rabbits were to be captured and moved to the countryside to be released on the Bréau estate in Seine-et-Marne. The police prefecture then specified: “The capture operation will take place in several sequences,” until February 29, or even later, “under conditions favorable to the well-being of the specimens taken.” According to them, 48 European rabbits have already been captured and released.
Amandine Sansivens, co-founder of PAZ, is appalled. The Bréau estate belongs to the Seine-et-Marne hunting federation and is open to hunting. “The police prefecture has deceived us!,” she accuses the police prefecture of being “kowtowing to the hunting lobby.”
On Friday, after contacting the Invalides, a commander from the office of the military governor responded: “There will be no reaction. The file is being handled by the police prefecture.” When contacted, the police prefecture justified its actions, emphasizing that the rabbits are responsible for the “deterioration of the gardens of the Invalides, the pipes, and the flora,” and claiming damages of 366,000 euros excluding taxes.
The police prefecture also emphasizes the good transport conditions for the small animals. “The rabbits are placed in individual wooden boxes on a bed of straw.” Finally, they assure that “the area in which they are reintegrated is a repopulation space where they are not hunted.” This did not calm Amandine Sansivens and the PAZ activists. “If the police prefecture renews its decree to capture the rabbits in March, we will take legal action.”
