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.
