22-06-2020
Paris has ignored a letter of formal notice sent
by the European Commission in July last year, which calls on French authorities
to stop illegal bird hunting.
The French government even doubled down in May by
publishing a decree, which maintains controversial bird hunting techniques that
are prohibited at EU level.
Vivian Loonela, EU Commission spokesperson on the
environment, says the infringement case was still open.
“The Commission is aware of the publication of
this new decree and will consider this new element in the follow up of the
case,” she told EURACTIV in emailed comments.
“The Commission is requesting France to ban
non-selective hunting practices, such as glue and nets, which are not in line
with the requirements of this Birds Directive,” Loonela said.
While EU countries “may derogate from certain
provisions of the directive,” they may only do so “under strict conditions that
are not fulfilled in this case,” Loonela explained.
The controversial hunting techniques are decried
by the Ligue de protections des oiseaux (LPO), a French conservation
NGO affiliated to BirdLife International.
According to conservationists, the French law is
illegal because it allows hunting bird species that are in bad conservation
state. It also allows the hunting of migratory birds and maintains traditional
hunting practices like birdliming, which are “not selective and harms species”.
When it comes to bird hunting, France is an EU
outlier, says Yves Verilhac, who represents BirdLife International in France.
“64 species can be hunted in France, contrary to
Netherlands which authorises only 2. The average in the EU is 30 species,
making France the most lenient country towards hunters,” he claims.
The list of species authorised for hunting in
France also includes migratory birds like the greylag goose, whose hunting is
“illegal” because it prevent them from flying further North than France, says
Verilhac.
In Brussels, the European Commission appeared to
back this argument. Loonela said the EU executive “pays particular attention to
the compliance of hunting practices in France because 20 of the 64 huntable
species are not in favourable conservation status.”
The Commission has opened a new procedure “asking
France to step up protection of the Turtle dove as hunting contributes to the
decline of this species,” Loonela said.
For bird protection NGOs, the most controversial
is undoubtedly traditional hunting techniques like birdliming and nets, which
“are not selective” and harm protected species.
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