No liming in 2020-2021? If the hunters attack they will once again find us blocking their path.

A cruel 'game' finally reaching its end

Hunters in five departments in the south-east of France insist on continuing their cruel tradition, which consists in killing birds by trapping them using glue smeared on branches, a practice known as liming. Terrified, all the poor birds that become stuck struggle, are injured and sometimes die in these traps, which, moreover, are not selective. These specialist hunters can repeat until they're blue in the face that they release the small birds belonging to species they are not targeting, but by then the harm has already been done: many die from their injuries or from stress, or are used as decoys to attract other birds and are held captive for months. Poaching isn't mentioned but everyone knows that it exists.

Last year, following our request to the Council of State relating to the 2018 decrees, the European Union had clearly called France to order on the 'Birds' directive.

Was the message of the European Court of Justice heard?

At the end of April 2020 the European Court of Justice once again responded favourably to our request for a ban on liming in France, submitted as part of our complaint about the decrees of 2019 on these traditional ways of hunting birds (by liming but also using cage traps, stone-traps, claps nets and other types of net). On that occasion the Council of State once again asked Europe to take it up with the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy.

Whereas her predecessors had scarcely been appointed when they rushed to sign the decrees concerned, Barbara Pompili recently spoke out in favour of reducing the quota of birds trapped using lime to zero for the 2020-2021 season. And for a good reason! This decision is the culmination of the years of fighting the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, which wouldn't budge. We are therefore delighted about the announcement by the new Minister of this long-awaited change.  

The hunters are in 'complete disagreement' – and who could have thought that they would react otherwise when their sadistic pastime could be taken away from them? – and are expected to take legal steps to protect liming. We have already faced down the elected representatives supporting this lobby at the European level. We shall not hesitate to go into the attack once again if it proves necessary. Meanwhile, to urge that traditional hunting be banned, please sign our petition!

Translated from the French by Patricia Fairey