Hunting with glue: the State Council has ruled, victory for birds

Below is the press release issued by the State Council

The State Council rules that glue-trap hunting is illegal

The State Council has ruled that glue-trap hunting cannot be authorized as it stands, after animal protection associations called for it to be banned and hunting federations called for it to be maintained. After referring the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union, the State Council has annulled the French regulation authorizing the glue-trap hunting of thrushes and blackbirds, on the grounds that it is contrary to European law. In fact, it has not been demonstrated that the other birds accidentally caught using this method are caught in small numbers and without serious consequences. Furthermore, the fact that this is a “traditional” hunting method is not sufficient to justify a derogation.

A “traditional” hunting technique in five regions of south-eastern France (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Bouches-du-Rhône, Vaucluse and Var), hunting with glue or birdlime involves coating sticks (“gluaux”) with glue in order to capture live birds of certain species who land on them, for use as decoys. Other birds caught using this technique must be released.

The European Birds Directive of November 30, 20091 prohibits the use of mass or non-selective capture methods, and lists glue-trap hunting as one of the prohibited practices. The directive does, however, provide for a derogation to be granted, “if there is no other satisfactory solution”, to capture certain birds in small quantities, “under strictly controlled conditions and on a selective basis”.

After asking the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to clarify its interpretation of these provisions of the Birds Directive, the State Council took the Court’s response into account and today annulled the ministerial decrees setting the maximum number of thrush and blackbird catches by glue-trap hunting in France. The three rulings were issued in response to appeals from the association One Voice and the French League for the Protection of Birds, which had called for the technique to be banned, and from the National Hunting Federation (FNC), which had called for it to be maintained.

The State Council noted that neither the government nor the hunters’ federation had provided sufficient evidence to assert that glue-trap hunting only led to the capture of small numbers of birds belonging to species other than those sought. Nor can it be claimed that accidentally captured birds would only suffer negligible damage once released and cleaned, particularly to their plumage.

Furthermore, it points out that while traditional hunting methods may be authorized under the Birds Directive, the sole aim of preserving these traditions is not sufficient to justify a derogation from the prohibitions of principle laid down in the Directive. Finally, it notes that it has not been demonstrated that there is no other satisfactory solution to the practice of glue-trap hunting.

Timeline

• September 2018 and September 2019: The Government authorizes by decree the glue-trap hunting of thrushes and blackbirds in five regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur for the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 hunting seasons.
• November 2019: Referred to by the association One Voice and the French League for the Protection of Birds, the State Council asks the CJEU to clarify the interpretation of the Birds Directive (see decision).
• August 2020: Pending a response from the CJEU, the Government refuses to authorize glue-trap hunting for the 2020-2021 campaign.
• September 2020: The National Hunting Federation refers to the State Council to order the Government to reauthorize glue hunting.
• March 17, 2021: The CJEU responds to the State Council (see decision).
• June 28, 2021: The State Council annuls the orders setting the number of birds that may be captured in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020, and validates the Minister’s refusal to authorize such captures in 2020.

1Directive 2009/147/EC of November 30, 2009 on the conservation of wild birds

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