Call to action: oppose the return of traditional lark hunting!
Once again, the government is attempting to authorise traditional lark hunting in south-western France despite systematic nullifications by the courts. The State’s disregard for animals’ rights and lives is unacceptable. Faced with the unlimited influence of the hunting lobby, we must mobilise massively against this scandal. To make our indignation heard, let’s participate by the thousands in the consultation on the draft decree that will authorise these killings and set the quotas for larks for the coming year!
Barbaric and illegal practices that the courts have been condemning for years
Hunting with nets involves nets that close violently on the larks attracted by the cries of some of their fellow birds used as decoys. The poor birds are then picked up by hand and killed one by one. This practice from another age serves no purpose other than to entertain a minority. Nothing can justify it: neither tradition nor culture. It is gratuitous suffering and death inflicted on sentient beings.
For years, at the request of One Voice and the LPO (League for the Protection of Birds), the courts have been nullifying the capture permits. Including when prefects attempt to quietly reintroduce them as part of pseudo-‘experiments’ entrusted to… hunters. All these decisions, from the Court of Justice of the European Union to the Council of State, should set a legal precedent. However, the government remains stubborn. Just when we thought they had been buried for good, the Ministry of Ecology is preparing to reauthorise these practices in four regions (Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne and Pyrénées-Atlantiques).
The government, an active accomplice of hunters
This is no longer a matter of ignorance or error, but of methodical determination. These draft decrees embody a clear desire to satisfy private interests to the detriment of animals, the French people, 83% of whom opposed them (Ipsos/One Voice poll, October 2022), the law and justice.
The government is once again betraying its role as guardian of the public interest, as it often does when the issue is protecting the environment and biodiversity. As it did a few days ago when it backed down on plans to suspend the hunting of endangered bird species, it is once again giving in to the blackmail of a vocal minority, armed with guns, who refuse to give up their most archaic practices. This political stubbornness is an insult to animals, democracy and the rule of law.
Larks should not have to die to entertain a few thrill-seeking men. Let’s demand the immediate withdrawal of these decrees! Let’s participate massively in the public consultation to say no to cruelty. And sign, so that together we can put an end to this unspeakable shame.