The decree allowing the massacre of wood pigeons when they arrive after migration has been partially suspended!
The Aude Prefecture decree allowing wood pigeons to be killed by hunters before the 'conventional' hunting period has just been partially suspended. A victory for One Voice and beyond, for the birds.
The Aude Prefecture has published a decree allowing wood pigeons – referred to as ‘palombes’ in the Pyrénées-Orientales department – to be considered as a species likely to cause damage, a new term for ‘pests’, and under this title they can be killed by hunters before the ‘traditional’ hunting season. With multiple arguments in hand, we challenged this decree, and it has just been suspended until 31 March inclusive. A half-hearted victory, but a victory all the same for these birds, and one that we share with the whistle-blower that called on us.
It seems that the Montpellier Administrative Tribunal was affected during the hearing by the argument the crops do not sprout until the month of April. This point calls into question the very existence of the damage to crops by wood pigeons in February to March, a critical (and current) juncture of the published decree. Among other things, the President highlighted a “file that’s not been done well”, particularly due to the lack of clarifying documentation in his eyes.
The decision is worded in such a way that we understand that these are the dates that ultimately mattered to the urgent applications judges:
«Article 2: The execution of the decree of 25 February 2022, under which the Aude Prefect has, on one hand, classified the wood pigeon as a pest and, on the other, defined the terms under which they can be destroyed, has been suspended as it concerns the period from 25 February to 31 March 2022.»
We are very happy with this suspension, although partial. It means hundreds of wood pigeons can fly in peace.
Translated from the French by Joely Justice