Traditional bird hunts once again authorized

Eight decrees appeared this Friday in the Official Journal authorizing so-called traditional bird hunts by trapping.

This decision, which Le Parisien had revealed was imminent earlier in the week, despite a decision by the Council of State which deemed them illegal.

His decrees were immediately attacked by associations.

At the beginning of August, the Council of State canceled several hunting authorizations for crested lapwings, golden plovers, field larks, thrushes and blackbirds with nets (pantes, tenderies) or cages (matoles), judging "that 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 ”.

"Not very classy to take these orders on a Friday to win a hunting weekend"

The European “birds” directive of 2009 prohibits mass capture techniques for birds without distinction of species.

A derogation is possible "on condition of being duly motivated and when

to capture certain birds", recalled the Council of State.

However, the government has decided to take back eight orders for 2021-2022. They authorize “the capture of crested lapwings and golden plovers by means of net tenderies” in the Ardennes, the “tenderie (noose) for 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, in Lot-et-Garonne and Pyrénées-Atlantiques.

This measure is interpreted by associations as a gesture towards the electorate very courted hunters who demonstrated by the thousands in mid-September. "It is a decision of the President of the Republic imposed on the ministers of Ecology", comments the LPO (League for the protection of birds) in a press release, while Emmanuel Macron is already accused of several largesse to the regard to hunters to secure their votes.

The LPO announced on Friday that it had attacked these new decrees before the Council of State, as did the One Voice association in summary proceedings and on the merits.

"It is not very classy to take these orders on a Friday to win a hunting weekend", said Thursday the president of the LPO, Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, during a meeting with the press.

It takes two to three weeks for the highest French administrative court to rule.