No to silent death!

No, we have not forgotten. A decree dating from 1986, which framed various hunting processes and the so-called “harmful” prohibits various technical devices facilitating their capture or destruction. By an order issued on January 2^nd 2018, the Ministry of the Ecological and Solidarity Transition has, almost on the sly, at least without prior consultation of the citizens, removed without replacing this provision, allowing in fact the use of any “silencer” on guns for hunting of all animals.

Acoustic comfort?

The lobby for hunters, of course endorsed by the National Council for Hunting and Wildlife and therefore of course by the ministry are not in the shade here: When they shoot it is likely they could become deaf (which harms not only their ears but good communication between each other during the hunt). Hearing protectors (helmets, earplugs) are effective for reducing gun shots, but are restrictive.

The more techno “silencers” which are legal in other European countries would offer better acoustic comfort to shooters and also less nuisance to residents living near to hunting areas and even “better preservation of wildlife in the vicinity, with less noise disruption.” In short, a softer, almost peaceful hunting…

An insecure drift

For us, this argumentation borders on ridiculous: since the decree of 1986, with a clearly protective vocation for the wildlife, trophy pictures pile up, bellies well full and the “art of hunting” lasts in all its tradition.

This removal of a protective provision not only distorts the spirit of the texts in place, but opens the door to tragic consequences, largely underestimated: quieter hunts will be more deadly for animals living in groups, this can only encourage poaching (silenced gun shots will be undetectable to the ears of the game warden) and this will not diminish the statistics on hunting accidents (15 dead and 200 injured per year) because walkers, joggers, mountain bikers of our forests are precisely warned of a hunt in progress by the noise of the shooting … Faced with the fears of urban pedestrians, the manufacturers of electric cars are preparing sound warning devices. In our forests, death will become silent again, omnipresent. Unacceptable!

A battle of decibels

Here we can see all the harm of an adjustment to a regulation negotiated in the golden rooms of the ministry. Despite significant consequences for the environment, security and public order, the Ministry did not conduct any public consultation before signing the decree of 2^ndJanuary 2018. However, its publication has led to many reactions from civil societies, who are massively worried about these technical drifts (let’s not forget the existence of subsonic bullets, much less noisy), which only reinforce the destructive character of the hunt under cover of litigious arguments. The risks here are much higher than the expected benefits for a minority, which is certainly an active one, but which for more than 30 years has been doing very well. If the French fear the hunt, it is not by making it less noisy that they will be reassured!

The National Federation of Hunters will certainly lead the high jurisdiction on a technical field, arguing that even though equipped with silencers costing several hundred euros, the shots will be audible to all hairy targets. Indeed, it is time to present a real study, which could motivate ministerial decisions; there are on the market (and this will be amplified) rifles equipped with an integral sound moderator that can reduce the noise of combustion gases to 45 decibels at a distance of one hundred metres, the equivalent of a wind breeze in deciduous trees. Identifiable and locatable I hear you say?

This damage to the environmental balance and animals, which is conducted for some overequipped Rambos, is unbearable to us. We hope that this time the justice administration will hear us, through our voice, that of our angry citizens. Please sign our petition to reform the hunt!