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In the south of France, it is in particular the thrush which is the object of this glue hunting. Dmitry Feoktistov \ TASS via Getty Images

The League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) has lodged with the European Commission, Thursday, January 3, a complaint against France that allows a particularly cruel form of hunting, the hunt for glue. It is a type of "traditional" hunting, which is practiced especially around the Mediterranean basin and in South Africa.

Hunting with glue or glue consists in trapping birds by depositing a sticky substance on a piece of wood, concealed in the middle of tree branches, so that the bird that settles there remains glued, without being able to fly. The hunter then "take off" the terrified bird, to keep it alive in a cage so that its song attracts its congeners who will be captured in their turn.

In the south of France, it is in particular the thrush, a small bird delicious to eat, it seems, which is the object of this hunt.

But at a time when birds are disappearing from the French countryside, the League for the Protection of Birds stands against a cruel and non-selective practice, since any bird can become trapped.

However, last week, the Council of State rejected an appeal filed by the NGO, to ask for the prohibition of the hunt for the glue.

The Bird Protection League has therefore announced the filing of a complaint against France before the European Commission. A complaint that seeks to effectively enforce the 2009 European Directive, which prohibits methods of non-selective bird capture and killing, but for which five departments in south-eastern France still benefit from derogations.