Justice validates the elimination of 1,430 foxes in Seine-Maritime

The justice rejected Thursday, August 20 the summary appeal of the One Voice nature protection association against a prefectural decree authorizing the elimination of 1,430 foxes by 2021 in Seine-Maritime.

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" The fox sees its population grow in the department of Seine-Maritime in a significant proportion ", contrary to what the association says, which mentioned " a slight decrease " during a hearing on Wednesday, said Patrick Mine, the summary judge of the administrative court of Rouen.

Number of trapped foxes on the rise

The number of foxes trapped between 2014 and 2019 is " constantly increasing, from 6654 to 8010 animals ", argues the magistrate, also highlighting " the upward trend in the kilometric index of abundance from 2017 to 2020 (counting method of fauna, editor's note) ”for this species. " The interruption of all regulatory activity during the period of the state of health emergency caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has contributed to the growth of the fox population ", also notes the judge.

However, “ the protection of human and animal health, the preservation of fauna such as small game, even though this game is also hunted by man, and the prevention of damage to farms (...) constitute so many public interests whose existence is sufficiently justified in the present case , ”adds the magistrate in his written decision.

Damage to private farms

During the hearing on Wednesday, Alexandre Herment, head of the environment service of the departmental direction of territories and the sea (DDTM), had reported " cases of sarcoptic scabies reported quite significantly in the department " and " foxes were found in a very poor sanitary condition ”. The association felt that this health risk was " not argued " by the prefecture.

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As for the impact of the fox on poultry, also mentioned by the decree of July 20, the legal director of DDTM Sophie Messmer had recognized Wednesday that there was " no damage to professional farms ", but that the damage to " particular farms has been demonstrated ". The annual amounts of damage communicated by the administration in view of the claims reports of which it was aware from 2014 to 2018 reached " the average of approximately 32,282 euros ", according to the judge.

One Voice assured the press on Wednesday that similar orders had been canceled in summary proceedings in 2019 in Eure and Moselle, as well as in 2018 in Meurthe-et-Moselle. The association is the only complainant. But the decree had also been strongly criticized by the FNE and by the deputy mayor EELV of Rouen, Jean-Michel Bérégovoy.