Bird poaching: Press release
The Criminal Court of Draguignan has handed down its verdict in the bird poaching case in which One Voice had joined the proceedings as a civil party. The defendant was found guilty of the illegal capture, destruction and possession of protected species. He was sentenced to pay fines, had his hunting licence revoked and was banned from possessing a firearm for three years.
Since 2022, every autumn, dozens of birds were being trapped on a property in Vérignon, in the Haut-Var. Using glue-coated sticks — despite them being banned — and a device that played bird calls to attract thrushes, the man would capture or kill them. The live birds were kept in an aviary to be sold as ‘decoys’; the others were killed, frozen, processed or sold.
The search carried out in November 2025 revealed the scale of the trafficking: 600 frozen thrushes, 50 live thrushes in cages, 19 great tits — a protected species — killed and frozen, 160 tins of thrush pâté, 70 glue sticks and 15 iron traps, as well as 18 firearms, including two unregistered ones, and several dozen kilograms of cartridges. The defendant admitted the facts and acknowledged that he was aware of their illegality.
A sentence below the prosecution’s recommendations
On 3 March, the man had been ordered in the civil proceedings to pay €11,500, notably for environmental damage. In the criminal proceedings, the sentencing had been adjourned to take into account whether or not the site and its illegal hunting facilities had been restored to their original condition.
On 18 June, the Court sentenced the man to 90 daily fines of €10 (totalling €900), two fines of €400, the revocation of his hunting licence for three years, and a ban on possessing or carrying a weapon for the same period. The defendant ad been facing a fine of up to €150,000 and three years’ imprisonment.
The revocation of the hunting licence: a tangible protection for wildlife
One Voice considers the revocation of the hunting licence and the three-year ban on firearms to be the most significant aspects of the ruling. While the organisation would have preferred harsher penalties, it welcomes the fact that the case has been brought to a conclusion: for at least three years, this man will no longer be able to hunt. That means many birds saved.
For One Voice, this case goes beyond the actions of a single individual. Pressure to reinstate so-called ‘traditional’ hunting methods – foremost among these being the banned practice of glue trapping – fosters a sense of impunity that encourages such practices.
The organisation is all the more pleased with this conviction which serves as a reminder that poaching is not a tradition, but a criminal offence.
Bird poaching: Press release
Bird poaching in the Haut-Var: conviction and revocation of a hunting licence for three years