Bird protection campaigners have accused the French government of flouting European regulations after it rescinded a ban on traditional hunting, reports The Guardian.
They accuse ministers of giving in to lobbying by powerful hunting groups to allow the trapping of thousands of birds as part of an “experimental study”.
Most traditional trapping methods were banned in France in 2021 under the threat of fines from the European Commission.
The ministry of ecological transition has now temporarily overturned the embargo on two practices: using large nets placed horizontally in the path of birds – usually attracted by the calls of a caged bird – and wire or wood traps.
The “study” began at the start of this month and is due to continue until 20 November. Its stated aim is to establishing whether these methods are selective, with the eventual goal, hunting organisations hope, of allowing them to continue.
Hunters are being allowed to catch 6,000 skylarks using pantes (horizontal nets) or matoles (drop cages) in four departments in south-west France and 500 lapwings and 15 golden plovers in the Ardennes in the north-east.
Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, the president of the French Bird Protection League (LPO), said: “This determination to encourage non-selective trapping is unworthy of a country that claims to be a leader in the recovery of biodiversity … it’s clear the matoles trap a multitude of protected species, and are not selective. Even if the birds are released, they are at best stressed, at worst subjected to mistreatment that is unacceptable in the 21st century.”