Justice reopens the trap of traditional hunting: banned a few months ago, the capture of larks is now authorized “for scientific purposes”
On November 13, 2024, the Pau administrative court rejected our request to suspend the prefectoral orders authorizing the capture of skylarks using “pantes” (nets) and “matoles” (cages) in the Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques regions. This decision marks an alarming backward step in the protection of birds, leaving the field open to practices that were thought to be a thing of the past. However, our request has reduced the number of birds who can be killed: 4 out of 5 larks offered to hunters have been saved. We will continue to challenge these decrees!
Justice authorizes hunting with pantes and matoles “for scientific purposes”
Despite the Council of State’s ban on these methods last May, the prefects of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Landes regions have, as last year, authorized the capture of skylarks using pantes and matoles until November 15, under the pretext of “scientific purposes”, under pressure from hunting lobbies. Clearly, these “experiments” are just a pretext for discreetly reintroducing them. The aim is clear: to give the impression that these methods are legitimate, in order to revive their use on the basis of alleged scientific validity. And curiously enough, it’s the hunters themselves who are responsible…
Our hopes were pinned on justice: by taking our case to court, we hoped to put an end to this aberration. But the judge refused to suspend the decrees, citing a lack of urgency.
As a result, hunter-trappers will be able to continue their cruel pastime: they capture a skylark, tie them up with rope and lock them in a cage. Hiding nearby, they pull on the rope, causing the bird to cry out in pain. Attracted by their cries of distress, several dozen other skylarks – as well as other birds – rush to help. But just then, the trap snaps shut: nets snap sharply from either side, trapping all the gathered birds. Some are injured, others die.
A success in spite of everything: catch quotas reduced
Nevertheless, between the filing of our request and the hearing, we managed to get the Landes Prefect to sign two decrees reducing the skylark catch quotas. Initially set at 18,000 captures, the quotas were finally reduced to 3,200 birds eligible for trapping. This last-minute U-turn reveals the fragility of the initial justifications and the difficulty of defending the indefensible. Our action forced the State to justify itself, to abandon similar decrees in other regions, and above all to drastically reduce the number of birds that could be trapped by means of a new decree.
The fight goes on
This decision in no way signals the end of the fight. We will continue to fight to abolish these archaic practices, backed by the 83% of French people who are calling for a ban on these methods, which are a relic of the past (Ipsos/One Voice 2022 poll).
Your support is essential: sign our petition for an in-depth reform of hunting and to prevent the reinstatement of these particularly cruel methods!