Paris: Invalides rabbits captured for introduction into Seine-et-Marne

In April 2022, animal protection associations were delighted: the wild rabbits at Les Invalides were protected! The rabbits at Les Invalides, considered the largest rabbit colony in the capital after those in the Bois de Boulogne, could no longer be killed, and could now roam freely on the esplanade's lawns, after years of legal battle. Previously, prefectoral decrees indicated that these rabbits were"likely to cause damage", and therefore authorized the Invalides military to regulate and kill"around forty a year".

Today, these small mammals are once again at the heart of the turmoil, as they are causing a great deal of damage around the Invalides, since they are no longer classified as"harmful". Watering pipes cut, lawns and vegetation damaged, shrubs killed... So the Préfecture de police de Paris decided to chase them off the Invalides lawns. " Overpopulation on the site is leading to degraded living conditions and health risks ", explains the Prefecture. The operation therefore involves capturing these wild rabbits and releasing them in Seine-et-Marne.

" Two operations have taken place since January 25, with identical results: 24 healthy rabbits were taken each time, and released after vaccination " on the Bréau estate in Seine-et-Marne, the Paris Prefecture of Police told AFP, asserting that " the area into which they are being reintegrated is a repopulation area, where they are not hunted ". According to France 3 Régions, further capture operations - 6 to be precise - are still to be organized between now and February 29, 2024.

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But this operation to capture and introduce wild rabbits from Les Invalides in Seine-et-Marne has been strongly criticized by the Paris Animaux Zoopolis (PAZ) association. According to PAZ, the Domaine de Bréau, where the rabbits are to be released, is a hunting area. " Bréau is, moreover, the commune in which the headquarters of the Seine-et-Marne Hunting Federation is located", according to Paris Animaux Zoopolis.

Furthermore, the association - which accuses the Préfecture of playing " opaque " around this operation - points out that " capturing rabbits causes them intense stress ". " A certain number will die during capture or transport ", says PAZ.

Also, the Paris Animaux Zoopolis association is organizing a happening at Les Invalides this Friday, February 16, 2024 from 12pm to denounce these capture operations.