Xavier Bertrand and Jean-Pierre Farandou, president of the SNCF, in Lille. – M.Libert / 20 Minutes
- Candidate for regional in Hauts-de-France, Xavier Bertrand met hunters in the Somme.
- He promised them to ask for the inscription of traditional hunts in the world heritage of Unesco.
- A clear stand even as these types of controversial hunts have entered the public debate.
Visiting on Monday in the Somme, Xavier Bertrand, outgoing president of Hauts-de-France and candidate for his succession, notably went to meet hunters. He took the opportunity for their
to make a promise which shocked many Internet users on social networks: proposing the registration of traditional hunts at Unesco.
“Hunting is part of the heritage of our country and Hauts-de-France. The Region will approach the Ministry of Culture to register waterfowl hunting and traditional hunts as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, ”Xavier Bertrand said on Twitter. What we call “traditional hunts” are practices specific to certain regions including, among others, the hunts for small birds (glue, tendelle, matole) or the “digging up” of animals such as the fox or the badger. On the other hand, hunting with hounds does not fall into this category.
On the table for public debate
This clear position taken by Xavier Bertrand comes precisely when these controversial practices have entered the public debate. At the end of last August, the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, announced the ban on slime hunt for the 2020 season. Regarding underground venery, this practice is tirelessly denounced by animal rights associations.
But not only. In a tribune signed last June by about sixty parliamentarians, Loïc Dombreval, Member of Parliament (LREM) of the Alpes-Maritimes, denounced practices “unsustainable from the point of view of respect for sentient beings that are animals, and in contrast to a hunting that would be modern and ethical ”.
Among Xavier Bertrand’s opponents at the regional level, the question of hunting is also debated. Unsurprisingly, the head of the left list, Karima Delli, spoke out against it. She even launched a citizen vote to call for a ban on hunting with hounds, a “cruel and old-fashioned practice”. For his part, the candidate of the national rally (RN),
Sebastien Chenu, declared: “the world of rural hunting and fishing will be able to count on me”.