The Gers prefecture is once again planning to kill and dissect 495 foxes
With no one the wiser, the prefect of the Gers region has authorised a new round of fox killings for “experimental” purposes. As was the case last month, the aim is to document their diet… at the cost of nearly 500 lives. Following the suspension of four orders on 3 March, we will once again be present at the Administrative Court in Pau on 19 March at 9 a.m. to demand the urgent suspension of these new orders.
A first victory in court… and a prefecture that refuses to give up
A few weeks ago, also in the Gers region, the court ruled in our favour by urgently suspending decisions that were identical in every respect. As a result, 660 foxes have already been spared.
All in all, the prefecture wanted to have more than 1,000 individuals killed. All this to rummage through their stomachs in the name of some obscure “scientific experiment”. And this even though thousands of them are already killed every year through hunting and unearthing.
Slaughtering foxes to better protect them: when the state gets it all wrong
On the prefecture’s side, there is total confusion: after referring to the “clumsiness” of its orders, it backtracked by stating that their purpose was to prove that the species is not “ESOD 1”. This is completely nonsensical, given that in 2023, it itself asked the minister responsible for hunting to give it this classification in the department.
As always, rather than seeking non-lethal alternatives, the prefect is giving in to the lobbies that want to see these red-coated animals, which are harassed everywhere and at all times, killed. He must reverse his decision. We are urgently referring the matter to the Administrative Court in Pau to put an end to these operations: the hearing is on 19 March. In the meantime, sign our petition for a radical reform of hunting!
1 Species likely to cause damage.
As soon as they were suspended, they were withdrawn!
A few days after our victories in court, the Gers Prefect withdrew all orders authorising the killing of foxes to examine their entrails. This is good news, signalling the end of the killings… Nonetheless, 22 of them will have been killed in the operation, but more than a thousand have been saved thanks to our action!
Launched in 2024, the study aimed to open the stomachs of foxes to experimentally assess their impact on livestock. And not, contrary to what the State claimed in bad faith, to downgrade these animals from their ESOD status (species likely to cause damage)…
Our fight against this list of shame continues. A hearing on the merits of the case has taken place in the Council of State concerning the ministerial order, and we are awaiting the decision.
Victory for the foxes of Gers!
Following the decision on 5 March which saved 660 foxes, the administrative judge in Pau has once again sided with the foxes by issuing an emergency suspension of the additional orders issued by the Gers Prefect, which condemned a further 495 foxes.
The prefecture claimed it wanted to analyse the contents of their stomachs in order, according to its statements, to remove them from the list of species likely to cause damage… A far-fetched argument that, for the second time, failed to convince the court.
In total, more than 1,000 individuals will have been spared thanks to our action and will be able to live without fear of being killed for dubious reasons.