Animal Welfare, Conservation and Biodiversity in the French Media

Writing for the website of the French public broadcast news service, Angélique Le Bouter reported last year on a major European ecological conservation project seeking to protect endangered species and ecosystems beyond the European continent, in France's extremely diverse overseas territories.

On the eve of the debate on the new animal protection bill, an AFP article published in l'Obs reports on the decision of one of France's biggest amusement parks to close its dolphinarium and relocate the dolphins to other dolphinariums in countries with less strict laws, rather than reintroducing them to the wild.

This article by Emilie Torgemen in the Parisien is something of a good news story, outlining the French role and French perspectives on the successful reintroduction of the European bison to its natural habitat.

This article by Brice Louvet is an interesting example of how a popular scientific publication (Science Post) can re-introduce a little extra detail and precision to a press agency text (AFP) in order to recapture some of the importance of a newsworthy research project on the topic of marine biodiversity.

Verging on the "advertorial", this summary of an interview about a new technology for protecting beehives was part of a campaign on Radio France showcasing the work of Bertrand Piccard's Solar Impulse Foundation in promoting ecological entrepreneurship. It is a perfect example of how elements of "native advertising" have been integrated into the French media's reporting on issues of biodiversity.

The first article in this year's project is a basic introduction, published by France Bleu, outlining the bill before the French parliament which is seeking to strengthen animal protection laws.

In this blog about animal rights issues and biodiversity, a group of Lille University master's students present a range of reports from the French media concerning the debates surrounding animal welfare and conservation. English versions of the articles, complete with glossaries and notes, provide an insight into how the French media are treating a range of controversial topics.

Speaking on France's most intellectual public radio station, France Culture, to mark the 300th anniversary of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, writer Aurélien Bellanger meditates on the possible end of the seasons in France and the link to climate change.

Coralie Lemke, writing in popular French science magazine, Sciences et Avenir, provides an overview of the international science tracing the recent wildfires in Australia to global patterns of climate change that could render certain highly populated parts of the world uninhabitable for humans.