https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from France in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed If you're planning the type of trip away that your pet cannot join, you will need to find someone to look after them - here's how to find pet-setting services or the more traditional boarding kennels in France. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260430/how-to-find-pet-sitters-or-boarding-kennels-in-france Thu, 30 Apr 2026 17:20:29 +0200 how-to-find-pet-sitters-or-boarding-kennels-in-france A curious seagull strolled nonchalantly through the penguin enclosure at a zoo in Paris. https://www.thelocal.fr/20251205/in-pictures-penguins-queue-in-paris-zoo-for-their-bird-flu-jabs Fri, 05 Dec 2025 15:20:02 +0100 in-pictures-penguins-queue-in-paris-zoo-for-their-bird-flu-jabs Two pandas at a zoo in central France are to return to China on Tuesday after the female was diagnosed with kidney failure, drawing hundreds of visitors for a final goodbye. https://www.thelocal.fr/20251125/france-bids-farewell-to-beloved-pandas-bound-for-china Tue, 25 Nov 2025 09:24:46 +0100 france-bids-farewell-to-beloved-pandas-bound-for-china A French couple kept a playful black panther in an apartment in northern France, triggering panic when she was spotted roaming nearby rooftops. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250905/french-couple-kept-panther-that-roamed-nearby-rooftops Fri, 05 Sep 2025 11:17:40 +0200 french-couple-kept-panther-that-roamed-nearby-rooftops The French have an abysmal reputation for abandoning their pets, especially in the summer – but why? https://www.thelocal.fr/20250806/are-the-french-really-world-champions-for-abandoning-pets Wed, 06 Aug 2025 16:14:42 +0200 are-the-french-really-world-champions-for-abandoning-pets Carrying staffs like shepherds, Sophie Morice-Couteau and Geoffroy Galliot inspect the nets of a sheepfold on a steep slope in the Baronnies massif, part of their daily mission to keep wolves away. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250805/human-presence-french-volunteers-protect-sheep-from-wolves Tue, 05 Aug 2025 18:59:01 +0200 human-presence-french-volunteers-protect-sheep-from-wolves They've become a family favourite over the decades, but this summer for the first time in almost 40 years the 'donkeys in culottes' will not appear. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250710/french-resorts-traditional-donkeys-in-trousers-absent-this-summer Thu, 10 Jul 2025 16:40:52 +0200 french-resorts-traditional-donkeys-in-trousers-absent-this-summer Compulsory microchips as well as bans on ear-cropping and tail-docking are among a set of new rules to protect cats and dogs that have been approved by European lawmakers. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250619/mutilation-ban-and-microchips-eu-lawmakers-approve-cat-and-dog-welfare-rules Thu, 19 Jun 2025 18:08:09 +0200 mutilation-ban-and-microchips-eu-lawmakers-approve-cat-and-dog-welfare-rules Two orcas and 12 dolphins are stuck in a shuttered French Riviera marine park after Spanish authorities refused to let them move to their country. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250411/orcas-and-dolphins-stuck-in-closed-french-marine-park Fri, 11 Apr 2025 11:06:20 +0200 orcas-and-dolphins-stuck-in-closed-french-marine-park Foie gras — the fattened liver of ducks or geese — is a French delicacy prized for its rich, buttery flavor. But its production, which involves force-feeding the animals, has led to bans in several countries. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250325/faux-gras-scientists-craft-more-ethical-version-of-french-delicacy Tue, 25 Mar 2025 17:15:19 +0100 faux-gras-scientists-craft-more-ethical-version-of-french-delicacy A visually impaired woman has filed a legal complaint after she was refused entry to a shop in central France because of her guide dog - so what does the law say about assistance animals? https://www.thelocal.fr/20250314/your-rights-in-france-with-a-guide-dog-or-assistance-animal Fri, 14 Mar 2025 16:20:46 +0100 your-rights-in-france-with-a-guide-dog-or-assistance-animal A French woman who has kept a wild boar as a pet since finding and domesticating the animal can keep it for now, a court has ordered, overruling local authorities who insisted the animal had to be removed or killed. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250117/pet-boar-gets-to-stay-with-french-owner-court-rules Fri, 17 Jan 2025 13:35:26 +0100 pet-boar-gets-to-stay-with-french-owner-court-rules A French marine park on Sunday closed down over a 2021 law banning shows featuring marine mammals, leaving uncertain futures for the two last orcas in captivity in the country, hundreds of other animals as well as dozens of staff. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250106/french-marine-park-closes-over-law-banning-killer-whale-shows Mon, 06 Jan 2025 09:58:28 +0100 french-marine-park-closes-over-law-banning-killer-whale-shows A French theme park said on Wednesday that it would close early next year over a 2021 law banning shows featuring marine mammals, including the two last orcas in captivity in the country. https://www.thelocal.fr/20241204/french-marine-park-to-close-over-law-banning-killer-whale-shows Wed, 04 Dec 2024 13:42:30 +0100 french-marine-park-to-close-over-law-banning-killer-whale-shows France’s upper house of parliament will this week debate a bill to ban children under 16 from attending bullfights, inflaming tensions and enraging aficionados of the centuries-old tradition. https://www.thelocal.fr/20241113/frances-bullfighters-see-red-over-bill-to-ban-under-16s Wed, 13 Nov 2024 09:37:48 +0100 frances-bullfighters-see-red-over-bill-to-ban-under-16s Dog thefts have been increasing in France, according to animal welfare groups, with a 20 percent jump in reported thefts. https://www.thelocal.fr/20241030/warning-over-rise-in-dog-nappings-in-france Wed, 30 Oct 2024 13:52:48 +0100 warning-over-rise-in-dog-nappings-in-france The European Commission approved on Monday a plan to close the Bay of Biscay on the French and Spanish Atlantic coasts to large fishing boats for one month this winter to prevent accidental dolphin catches. https://www.thelocal.fr/20241001/eu-to-bar-large-fishing-boats-from-bay-of-biscay-over-dolphin-risks Tue, 01 Oct 2024 11:38:16 +0200 eu-to-bar-large-fishing-boats-from-bay-of-biscay-over-dolphin-risks Strasbourg, the picturesque city in north-east France, is testing out a pigeon birth control technique that officials estimate will humanely halve the number of pigeons in just three years. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240829/french-city-to-use-contraceptive-lofts-in-bid-to-halve-pigeon-population Thu, 29 Aug 2024 14:21:00 +0200 french-city-to-use-contraceptive-lofts-in-bid-to-halve-pigeon-population They might look cute but they can be very fierce or even aggressive - if you're hiking in France here's what you need to know about the 'patou' livestock dogs. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240807/patou-what-hikers-need-to-know-about-frances-mountain-dogs Wed, 07 Aug 2024 16:19:16 +0200 patou-what-hikers-need-to-know-about-frances-mountain-dogs Police and prosecutors were investigating how a 37-year-old woman came to be attacked and seriously injured by three wolves in a zoo outside Paris Sunday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240623/wolf-attack-at-french-zoo-leaves-woman-fighting-for-life Sun, 23 Jun 2024 17:12:42 +0200 wolf-attack-at-french-zoo-leaves-woman-fighting-for-life