“Let’s protect the ‘frontier’ animals that live freely in the urban space”

aux Invalides, in the heart of Paris, has been a rabbit colony for many years. These rabbits are not wild animals. They do not live in the wild. They are not pets either; They are not under the yoke of men. Despite everything, they resided in the heart of Paris. These rabbits are on the cusp of home life. For this reason, they are part of a large family of primitive animals (from the Latin right, which means “threshold”), rubbing shoulders with pets that have returned to the wild, wild animals whose habitat is no more than an island lost in the vicinity of urban development, etc.

The introductory personality is not biological but social. There are no threshold animals by nature. The same animal, during its life, can change the category. A pet rabbit abandoned and welcomed by Warren created in a progressively urban area will be first domestic, wild and then introductory. The hypothesis has already been observed.

Rethink Gardens

The introductory adjective makes it possible to designate a very specific class of animals and to avoid their disappearance. What we do not call does not exist. Naming allows representation, analysis, understanding and also giving a state. In fact, introductory animals need prestige, because they are in their place in the city: they do not have “The possibility (as individuals) to return to live in the wild, so they are part of our communities and we cannot legitimately exclude them” (Will Kymlicka and Sue Donaldson, zopolis, Political theory of animal rightsAlma editor, 2016).

That is why our association demands that dictionaries give additional meaning to the word “introductory”. This new entry applies to animals: primitive animals that live freely in urban space. This definition will allow a real reflection on what could be a peaceful coexistence of predatory animals, a reflection that will focus as a priority, on the one hand, on the habitat, on the other hand, on the use of non-lethal methods of population reduction.

First, the issue of habitat is vital to them. Without a habitat, there are no animals. In the city, green spaces allow them to live (building nests, digging burrows, raising their young, etc.) and feeding themselves. So the cities should give more space to the primaries; This means a complete rethink of the parks and gardens that must be protected from urban encroachment and shared with them.

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