Rock ptarmigans and Capercaillies: Press release
After years of legal battles led by One Voice in particular, rock ptarmigans and capercaillies are to be removed from the list of huntable species and designated as protected birds. The Ministry for Ecological Transition is due to announce this new decree in the early afternoon.
The government is set to take a major step forward in the protection of mountain galliformes, a group that includes several species of birds living at high altitudes, such as rock ptarmigans and capercaillies. This morning, One Voice learnt from a reliable source that a decree is due to be announced today, which will aim to remove these birds from the list of huntable species and classify them as protected birds.
These texts will be subject to a 21-day public consultation before they can officially come into force.
Iconic birds in critical danger
Capercaillies and rock ptarmigans, emblems of mountain ecosystems, are now in sharp decline.
Capercaillies, who depend on old-growth, undisturbed forests, are seeing their habitat disappear due to logging, human disturbance and climate change. Already extinct in some regions, they now survive only in a few isolated mountain ranges.
Rock ptarmigans, adapted to the extreme conditions of high altitudes, are particularly vulnerable to global warming which directly threatens their habitat. This pressure is exacerbated by the increasing number of visitors to mountain areas and the development of infrastructure. Until recently, hunting placed additional pressure on this fragile species.
Without enhanced protection, these species risk disappearing from our mountains.
A long-running legal campaign led by One Voice
For several years, One Voice, alongside other organisations, has been waging a constant legal battle to put an end to the hunting of these threatened species and other mountain galliformes. This hunting continued to be authorised by the prefectures, limited to a few dozen birds due to the threats affecting galliformes. An absurd situation that has been allowed to persist for far too long in order to satisfy the hunting lobby, allowed to decimate them for their “leisure”.
In a ruling of 1 June 2022, the Council of State ordered the government to suspend the hunting of capercaillies for five years, leading to the adoption of a decree to that effect until 2027.
On 2 March 2026, following a petition by One Voice among others, the Council of State also ordered the suspension of hunting of rock ptarmigans, confirming the need to protect these birds given their conservation status.
These decisions were secured despite the initial refusal by the Ministry for Ecological Transition to implement a moratorium, necessitating repeated legal action to ensure their protection.
For One Voice, the protection of these birds represents a crucial step forward.
“This is a significant victory for the rock ptarmigan and the capercaillie, achieved after years of campaigning. But it will only be complete once these decrees are definitively adopted. We remain fully committed to their cause, as well as to that of four other species of mountain galliformes for which we will continue to take legal action for as long as necessary.” Muriel Arnal, President of One Voice.
Rock ptarmigans and capercaillies: Press release
One Voice welcomes a decisive step forward for their protection in France