On April 12, the Montpellier Court of Appeal (Hérault) sentenced a trafficker to two years in prison, six months longer than at first instance. It was not the trade in narcotics or contraband cigarettes that brought this offender to the bar, but a trade in European goldfinches. In recent years, these birds, prized for their beauty and their melodious songs, have fallen victim to a ruthless black market. Regularly, specimens of these small protected birds are captured and placed in tiny cages by traffickers, before being resold for exorbitant prices.
At the National Office of Biodiversity (OFB) of Hérault, we are awash, as in other departments, under the trafficking of elegant goldfinches. “We have a lot of feedback from nature protection associations or even individuals who witness captures or who notice that birds are illegally kept on balconies, for example,” explains Vincent Tarbouriech, head of the OFB. in the Hérault. It must be said that this business is particularly juicy. “It’s a lesser-known traffic, but unfortunately as profitable as drugs,” laments Vincent Tarbouriech. A bird can be resold for 50 to more than 1,000 euros, depending on its song and plumage. If you catch a few dozen birds a day, it adds up very quickly. »
A disaster, for the survival of the species
Goldfinch traffickers are also often stuck in drug schemes. Recently, gendarmes, who were investigating a drug case, widened the scope of their investigations, when they heard… chirping, behind the discussions, in the telephone tapping of the suspects.
For the species, these traffics are a real disaster. In France, the population of European goldfinches in the wild has dropped by at least 40%. “This is not the only cause, there is also the use of certain pesticides, changes to the environment, in particular, explains Pierre Maigre, the president of the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) of Hérault. But this trafficking unfortunately contributes to this drop in numbers. In some countries outside of Europe, where these birds are the stars of singing and elegance contests, we no longer find them, or almost, in the wild. “This also explains these price surges,” continues the boss of the LPO of Hérault.
Severe justice, rejoices the LPO
To capture these lucrative European goldfinches, traffickers use several methods, which are illegal and severely punished. With glue, which they brush on sticks. Birds, attracted by water, seeds, other caged birds or chirping recordings, roost there, and remain trapped. Others use large nets to tear them from their natural environment.
Lately, the law has been tough on traffickers of European goldfinches. “For several months, we have noted, with some satisfaction, that the courts do not hesitate, when there is a recidivism, to impose prison sentences, continues Pierre Maigre. This was not the case in the past. A cash conviction, a few hundred euros, given the gains generated by this traffic, is not a deterrent. In France, the capture, possession and trade of protected species are heavily sanctioned: the defendants incur for each of their offenses 3 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 150,000 euros.