It's a real disaster.
More than a quarter of the deer population in the forest perished in the fires, according to hunters from La Teste-de-Buch.
The latter estimate that between 140 and 180 animals died, out of around 560 in total, in the forest of Gironde ravaged by the flames, reports France 3. It is more than the hunting plan of the sector which allows to hunt a maximum of 140 deer.
An alarming observation which explains the decision of the municipal hunting association to decree the cessation of deer hunting until 2023.
“I think there are far too many losses.
All of the small deer that were born a month and a half ago in the area have been decimated, it's catastrophic.
When there was a fire, the females left and the little ones stayed behind, ”explained Frédéric Mora to Actu Bordeaux, the president of the municipal hunting association.
Fox and wild boar hunting is also affected by this decision according to actu.fr.
With the exception of drives near homes, in urban and peri-urban areas, which can always take place if necessary.
“If we go there, it will no longer be hunting, it will be clay pigeon shooting”
The quantified extent of biodiversity loss is still difficult to assess, the only certainty is that it is substantial.
In total, 20,000 hectares of forest were ravaged in Gironde, including 7,000 in Teste-de-Buch where more than a thousand firefighters fought for eleven days to fix the fire between July 12 and 23, 2022. animals are therefore mainly concentrated in areas of the forest spared by fires, it is possible to hunt them with disconcerting ease.
“If we go there, it will no longer be hunting, it will be clay pigeon shooting”, imagines Frédéric Mora.
This is why the association for the protection of animals Brigitte Bardot demands a “truce for the animals surviving this tragedy”, through a letter to the Minister of Ecological Transition Christophe Béchu.
And more than 6,400 signatures appear on a petition launched online intended for the Prefecture to cancel the 2022/2023 hunting season in the department.
As for the Prefecture, it considers that it is not yet time to think about a possible decree which would suspend hunting in La Teste-de-Buch.
She will not comment on this subject before September 11, the date of the general opening of hunting in the department.