As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Wednesday, 2 December 2015

Bird activists ruffle Frenchman's feathers, chased with spade

By AFP | AFP – Mon, Nov 9, 2015

A Frenchman became an online sensation on Monday after being pictured storming out of his house in his underwear brandishing a spade to chase away bird conservationists.

It began when a few members from the League of Bird Protection (LPO), accompanied by journalists, sneaked into a cornfield in the village of Audon in southwestern France early on Monday morning.

Their mission was to destroy traps laid to catch finches, which are hunted despite the songbirds being a protected species.

However, the bird enthusiasts were soon interrupted by a local man who flew at them with a spade, dressed only in a blue shirt and his underpants.

"When we wanted to free the finches, people came at us with violence, we were hit three or four times with a spade," said LPO president Allain Bougrain-Dubourg.

A second resident emerged with what appeared to be a hoe, threatening the conservationists and journalists. The angry locals also punctured the wheels of several cars belonging to the reporters and activists.

The clash lasted about 15 minutes before police arrived.


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