France: Hunting of endangered bird species must be banned

In France, the shooting of 30’000 turtle doves and 6’000 Eurasian curlews is set to be approved for the coming hunting season. NABU has sharply criticized this plan in an open letter to French Environment Minister Élisabeth Borne. «It cannot be that the protection of severely endangered bird species is being weakened», said NABU Federal Executive Director Leif Miller. «The French government is apparently caving to the hunting lobby, which supported Emmanuel Macron during the election campaign.»

The French Ministry of the Environment is also planning to allow hunting of the black-tailed godwit again. While hunting of the species is set to remain suspended initially, this will only be for one year — even though at least three years would be needed for the severely endangered population to recover.

«It is particularly absurd that the ministry is acting contrary to the recommendations of its own experts», said NABU bird conservation expert Eric Neuling. In March 2019, the ministry appointed an expert panel to examine the possibility of resuming hunting of turtle doves, Eurasian curlews, and black-tailed godwits. The panel concluded that hunting of the turtle dove and Eurasian curlew is in no way sustainable under any circumstances, and that hunting quotas for these species should therefore be set to zero. Disregarding these scientific findings, the ministry now intends to permit hunting regardless.

The turtle dove, Eurasian curlew, and black-tailed godwit are critically endangered in Germany. «Birds know no borders: the animals facing being shot in France include breeding birds from Germany that we are actively protecting here», said Neuling. «Due to massive habitat loss, their populations are at risk. They must therefore under no circumstances be released for hunting.» This plan is incompatible with the EU Birds Directive, said Neuling.

The Turtle Dove

Since the turtle dove population in Europe has declined by 80 percent since 1980, the species is classified as “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The expert panel appointed for this purpose therefore recommends a temporary moratorium on hunting the species. The International Action Plan for the Turtle Dove 2018 to 2028, which consolidates the most up-to-date knowledge from over 50 countries, also clearly shows that hunting turtle doves in Western Europe is not sustainable for the population.

Both findings are ignored by the French government when hunting is permitted again. We therefore call for hunting of the turtle dove in France to be banned and a hunting quota of zero birds to be established in order to save the species.

The Eurasian Curlew

The population of the Eurasian Curlew has also declined sharply in Europe — by 43 percent since 1980 — and is classified as “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in Europe. The expert panel therefore also advocates halting hunting of this endangered species. Furthermore, France has already been called upon (according to the International Action Plan for the Conservation of the European Population of the Eurasian Curlew) since 2015 to establish adaptive management for this threatened species. However, France has so far failed to comply with this call.

The curlew is a wading bird that is highly sensitive to hunting, as it is a long-lived species with late sexual maturity and low reproductive rates. France would be the last country in Europe to reopen hunting of this species. Many European countries — including Germany, from which some of the French wintering birds originate — are making great efforts to improve the breeding success of their populations and to halt the destruction or degradation of their habitats. These efforts are now being undermined.

To ensure the survival of the Eurasian Curlew, it must no longer be hunted!

The Black-tailed Godwit

Since black-tailed godwit populations in Europe have declined by 56 percent since 1980, all countries along its migration route have committed to halting hunting of the species. This was established in an International Action Plan for the Conservation of Migratory Waterbirds. Now the French government wants to extend the existing moratorium by one year, but that is not sufficient for the populations of this highly endangered species to recover.

We therefore advocate for the moratorium to be extended by 3 years, so as not to jeopardize the conservation of the species.