Once again, a tribunal has noted that hunting Galliformes is illegal
The Toulouse Administrative Tribunal has cancelled the 2020 prefectural decree authorising the hunting of Galliformes in Ariège.
It was about time! The ruling was expected in this old case file that we have been opposing at the Ariège Prefecture since 2020. Every year, for three years, we have attacked the decisions that turn capercaillies, rock ptarmigans, and grey partridges in the Pyrenees into living targets in this department (and in many others). The Toulouse Administrative Tribunal ruled on December 19: the prefectural decree was illegal, as were the massacres of mountain birds who this ruling will unfortunately not bring back to life.
Galliformes killed illegally in Ariège
In our plea, we reported a large number of irregularities. Firstly because, as is often the case, the State has not taken the trouble to objectively show the public the impacts of these hunts on an already heavily threatened species – global warming, mountain development, tourism, logging, etc. But also because the use of guns is never acceptable, especially when the animals concerned are in a vulnerable situation. The Toulouse judges confirmed this.
This case file is the starting point for our fight for mountain Galliformes. A difficult fight due to persecution by a small minority supported by the State, wanting to maintain their morbid “hobby”. But this fight has borne fruit: this year, our actions have allowed more than 1000 birds to be saved who prefects had authorised to be killed. From the Hautes-Alpes to the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence via Savoie and Isère, all of these lives saved belong to so many individuals who will be able to peacefully enjoy the snow-capped peaks.
For a ban, pure and simple, on hunting Galliformes!
For all of these species, we are dangerously approaching the point of no return, such as with capercaillies. At the time, hunters swore with their hands on their hearts that there was nothing to worry about, that as “France’s first ecologists”, we had to trust them to protect these birds… During this time, they continued to go back and forth in the mountain ranges looking for their targets. Nowadays, capercaillies have almost disappeared, to the point where the State Council had banned hunting them for five years. But, ready for anything when it comes to killing animals, hunters have chosen to attack this decision. Not giving in to their deceptive arguments, the State Council has fortunately rejected their request.
This tactic is what they are currently using for all other Galliformes. If we do not act, France will follow and the last survivors will become a relic of a distant past when harmful human activities had not yet decimated entire populations.
Let’s refuse these massacres together! Sign our petition to demand a radical reform on hunting.
Translated from the French by Joely Justice