The government is persecuting skylarks: we are once again referring to the Council of State
Hunters using nets will be able to kill 100,000 skylarks in the coming months. Attracted by the desperate cries of other birds used as “decoys”, they will land on the ground. The nets will close violently around them. Once collected, they will either be kept for the next hunt or die one by one from a twisted neck. Despite dozens of court rulings condemning this method of capture in the context of this type of hunting in the Southwest and Grand Est regions, the State is sticking to its guns, showing contempt for animals and the (few) rules that are supposed to protect them. We are asking the Council of State to immediately suspend this decree, which once again contravenes the “Birds” directive.
Tens of thousands of lives trampled on in the name of a “tradition”
Long an integral part of the French countryside, the song of the larks is gradually dying out. In just a few years, breeding populations have declined by 28 to 39%, and those that spend the winter in France by nearly 49%. Yet they continue to be hunted on a massive scale, including with archaic capture methods that cause unacceptable suffering.
For years, our legal actions against these outdated practices have been bearing fruit. Glue, stone traps, “pantes” (nets), and “matoles” (cages)… from the Court of Justice of the European Union to the Council of State, the courts have ruled in our favor, request after request. But in France, everything works as if the hunting lobby were more powerful than the justice system. And that is something we will never accept.
Hunters give the orders, the State obeys
In 2023, the government already attempted to reauthorize nets in five departments under the guise of a pseudo-“scientific experiment”,which fooled no one. In the Ardennes, the only department for which the courts have ruled to date, the decree was overturned and the captures were deemed illegal.
Today, the Ministry of Ecological Transition is going even further and openly defying both birds and judges. For the 2025-2026 season, it has just decided that 98,702 larks may be captured and killed in Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, and Pyrénées-Atlantiques—not counting those that will die from shotgun pellets.
For an immediate suspension of the massacres
A few days after making a request to end the hunting of wood pigeons with nets, we are asking the Council of State to immediately suspend the killings. Larks should not have to die to entertain a few thrill-seeking humans. They have the right to live, fly, and sing, and we will fight for them for as long as it takes.
Now that we have taken the matter to the Council of State, we need your support more than ever to fight this battle. If, like 83% of French people (Ipsos/One Voice survey, October 2022), you are opposed to these practices, please sign the petition, especially to put an end to the most cruel hunting practices!
Return of the nets: hearing on September 22, 2025
The hearing to obtain an emergency suspension of the slaughter of nearly 100,000 skylarks in the southwest for the coming year will be held at the Council of State on September 22, 2025, at 11 a.m. Once again, we will be there to speak out on behalf of these birds, victims of the relentless pursuit of hunters and authorities.