Default victory for turtledoves against the Ministry of the Ecological Transition

Default victory for turtledoves against the Ministry of the Ecological Transition

Hunting
31.12.2021
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The order allowing turtledove hunting during the 2020-2021 season has been cancelled on 30 December as a result of our appeals.

In September 2020, our interim suspension and that of the Ligue pour la protection des oiseaux [LPO – French Association for the Protection of Birds] had convinced judges from the highest administrative court to put a stop to the authorised massacre of turtledoves. But the decree of 27 August 2020 remained to be definitely annulled. It is now done: the decision was made yesterday, after more than a year of suspense.

The adjournment of the order for the 2020-2021 season had acknowledged that hunting was a serious violation of turtledoves and, undoubtedly feeling the annulation coming, the ministry had decided not to resume the order until the end of July 2022 at the earliest.

Since the meeting on 20 December, the hunters, who had opposed us by supporting the ministerial order, found themselves abandoned in the middle of nowhere! We will explain: so that their intervention could be taken into account, they had to join either the defence (the ministry) or the petitioners (us, animal advocates). Yet the ministry did not submit a statement! In other words, the minister withdrew, and her allies, the hunters, were left high and dry. All of this is for the benefit of the turtledoves, who have been spared this year.

Clear rules

«An intervention can only be successful if the person behind it either agrees with the conclusion of the applicant or with that of the defendant. The Ministry of the Ecological Transition, to whom the requests from the LPO and the One Voice association were communicated, not having produced a statement tending their withdrawal, meant that the interventions of the Fédération nationale des chasseurs [French National Federation of Hunters] are not admissible.»Extract from the State Council’s decision on 30 December 2021

The government sets upon these birds

Thousands of turtledoves had already perished when the decision to suspend the decree was given, this in the context of it being the sixth mass extinction of animals on the planet, the birds being among those primarily concerned. Turtledoves are also supposed to benefit from protection in France and Europe under the Birds Directive that France has, on many occasions in recent years, happily trampled on (bird liming, traditional hunting, and then, once again with turtledove hunting).

Annulment of an abuse of power

In its decision on 30 December, the State Council specifically mentioned:

«Following everything that happened previously, and given that the minister responsible for hunting had not produced any statement of defence, the LPO and One Voice association are justified in maintaining that by authorising the hunting of turtledoves in the 2020-2021 season, the order of 27 August 2020 that they are attacking disregards the objective of the 30 November 2009 Directive as well as the previously cited provisions of the Environmental Code, and are justified in requesting, for this reason and without need to give other reasons for the request, its annulment for abuse of power.»

Unquestionable conclusions

«Interventions by the Fédération nationale des chasseurs are not admissible. The order from 27 August 2020 by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition has been annulled.»

If the government tried to file a hunting order for turtledoves again, we would attack them again. But the fact that the ministry had not filed a statement gives us hope for the future. What a pity that we have to take them to court each time to be able to get to this point…

Translated from the French by Joely Justice

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