Court bans hunting for seven endangered bird species

It’s a mixed victory for Sea Shepherd France And Defense of aquatic environments. The two environmental protection associations demanded a ban on the hunting of 21 migratory bird species (still huntable because they are listed on the French list of waterfowl) in the area. Nature 2000 the Arcachon basin and the Banc d’Arguin. In a decision dated May 16, the administrative court ruled in favor of the associations for only seven of the 21 species. The ban is due to take effect within four months, before September 23. Sea Shepherd and Defense of Aquatic Environments will appeal this decision to request the extension of the measure to the 14 other species.

The seven protected species are the Redshank and Water Rail, both near threatened, the Greylag Goose, Eurasian Curlew, Curlew and Common Pochard, all four vulnerable, and the Critically Endangered Snipe. of extinction. A list far too short for the associations, which points, for example, to the quasi-threatened and “strangely forgotten” tufted scaup.

Hunting activity harms the protected natural environment

The associations argue, based on European regulations, that “all activities must be assessed against the conservation objectives of Natura 2,000 sites”, they explain in a press release on Friday. They criticize, for example, the trampling of the ground, the detonations which frighten the birds. But the prefect of Gironde believes that pressure from hunters on the environment is decreasing. “The number of hunters has fallen sharply in recent years, from 1,026 in 2005 to 600 in 2014, and the huntable length has also decreased by 31% over the same period”, justifies the judgment of the administrative court.

For the associations, the degradation of the environment by the practice of hunting no longer needs to be demonstrated, pointing for example “the deterioration of natural habitats duly established by bailiff’s reports and in particular of the 227 hectares of relict meadows with salicornia significantly reduced by the digging of the lakes of tons. »

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