Thanks to our action, the Prefect withdraws orders allowing hunters to slaughter wild boar in Seine-Maritime
Since 1 January, and while the hunting season is still open, all huntmasters in Seine-Maritime could take out their weapons to shoot wild boar without any restrictions throughout the year. Too numerous, too much damage… the arguments are always the same. How many of these animals will have been sacrificed for the leisure activities of a few? One Voice has taken the matter to court in order to obtain an emergency suspension of the cull. Even before the hearing (scheduled for 3 February), the Prefect withdrew all his orders, proving
that this umpteenth gift to hunters was illegal.
When 2026 rhymed with wild boar massacres
Hunted in winter during the hunting season and classified as a species likely to cause damage (ESOD), wild boar have long been the preferred target of hunters. After the unlimited night-time shooting in Moselle, the Prefect of Seine-Maritime authorised huntmasters throughout the region to kill wild boar without limit, day or night, from 1 January to 31 December 2026. This amounted to a permanent authorisation to slaughter them indiscriminately.
These animals, which are emblematic of our forests, are persecuted everywhere and by all means. In addition to being valuable in and of themselves, they are also useful within ecosystems – a fact too often forgotten. Their presence helps to aerate the soil by turning it over: without them, microbial activity would be endangered which would lead to the loss of the phenomenon known as ‘bioturbation’.
Hunting: a completely outdated pastime for which wild boar pay a heavy price Prefects are constantly brandishing the same scare tactics (damage, overpopulation, etc.) to conceal the responsibility of hunting in the current situation. It should not be forgotten that these animals adapt and increase their birth rate as soon as one of their own loses its life. Added to this is feeding, which artificially nourishes them. Is it any wonder then that populations are increasing? Worse still, some wild boar are bred and slaughtered in enclosures. Under these conditions, how can we believe the rhetoric of ‘regulation’? It is high time to implement alternatives to these mass culls. In response to these orders, we took the matter to the administrative court to obtain an emergency suspension. Even before the hearing was held, the Prefect withdrew them, thus sparing the wild boar.
This withdrawal does not however in any way reflect a change of heart in favour of wild boar. It is solely due to a legal point that was overlooked by the Prefecture. We therefore remain fully vigilant: if the Prefect were to issue new orders, we would
challenge them again without hesitation.
To speak up for wild boar against those who want to eradicate them, sign our
petitions for a radical reform of hunting!
Thanks to our action, the Prefect withdraws orders allowing hunters to
slaughter wild boar in Seine-Maritime