France: Hobby Hunters Against Bird Hunting Ban
Rural identity and the privileged relationship of hobby hunters with animals are said to be at stake.
Thousands of hobby hunters took to the streets in France on Saturday to protest against a ban on traditional bird hunting.
Council of State annuls permits
The protests in various departments across the country were peaceful, according to police. In August, the Council of State had annulled previously granted permits for hobby hunting of around 115,000 birds, including lapwings, larks, and thrushes, using nets and cages. These were found to violate the European Birds Directive of 2009.
As early as June, hobby hunting of birds using limed sticks — a method practiced in some regions of southern France — had been declared illegal by the supreme administrative court. In this method, birds become stuck to branches coated with sticky adhesive.
The European Commission recently ratified a ban on lead ammunition set to take effect by 2023, which will force more than one million French hobby hunters to switch weapons.
Hobby hunters feel “attacked”
Meanwhile, the hobby hunting community also feels cornered by what it describes as a small group of “radical hunting opponents.”
«“We are being attacked more and more, constantly criticised — it is becoming unbearable”, says Thierry Delefosse, director of the hunting association of the Somme. Thierry Delefosse even speaks of the rise of “anti-hunting fundamentalism.”
Behind the scenes, accusations are also surfacing that the government of President Emmanuel Macron is bowing to the interests of lobby groups to secure votes, just seven months before the presidential election.
