Several decrees appeared this Friday in the Official Journal, authorizing so-called “traditional” bird hunts with different types of traps. However, the Council of State had found these practices non-compliant with European law.
The government indeed wished to take back eight orders for 2021-2022, which authorize “the capture of crested lapwings and golden plovers by means of tenderies with nets” in the Ardennes, the “tenderie (noose) to thrushes and blackbirds “In the Ardennes,” the capture of the skylark by means of matoles “in the Landes and Lot-et-Garonne and” the capture of the skylark by means of pantes “in Gironde, in the Landes , Lot-et-Garonne and Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Glue trapping remains prohibited.
However, at the beginning of August, the Council of State had canceled several decrees authorizing the hunting of these different birds with nets or cages. He said: “these authorizations issued by the Minister responsible for the environment do not comply with the requirements of European law relating to the protection of birds.” Indeed, a European directive dating from 2009 prohibits the techniques of massive capture of birds without distinction of species.
Anger of animal rights associations
Faced with this turnaround, animal protection associations immediately reacted and expressed their anger, and believe that this is a decision taken for political purposes. “Once again, biodiversity and over 100,000 wild birds are being sacrificed on the altar of electoral cynicism. Emmanuel Macron’s sole objective being to appease hunters as the Presidential election approaches in exchange for the guarantee that their National Federation will not officially support one of his main rivals openly pro-hunting: Xavier Bertrand, for do not name him, ”the League for the Protection of Birds said in a statement.
The association has also indicated that it will file an appeal with the Council of State to request the suspension of these decrees. The highest French administrative court should therefore rule in a few weeks.
The National Federation of Hunters, for its part, welcomed this government decision. “The FNC can only congratulate itself on the very substantiated content of these decrees, and this result, the fruit of a studious collaboration with the services of the Ministry of Ecological Transition.”