• The administrative court suspended the decree issued by three prefects in Brittany authorizing the slaughter of around 25,000 jackdaws.

  • This protected species is accused by farmers of causing havoc in crops.

  • The One Voice and Crow Life associations, which had seized the administrative court, claim victory.

Thousands of jackdaws will have their lives saved in Brittany.

Seized by the associations One Voice and Crow Life, the administrative court of Rennes suspended the execution of the decrees taken by the prefects of Finistère, Morbihan and Côtes-d'Armor authorizing the slaughter of approximately 25,000 birds in these three departments.

Often confused with the crow or the black basket, the jackdaw, a protected species since 1989, is accused of wreaking havoc on crops, causing very significant financial losses for farmers.

In its decision handed down on Tuesday, the administrative court expresses doubts about the legality of the decrees, considering that they do not specify "the importance, the extent and the location of the damage suffered by the farms and attributed to the jackdaws of the towers ".

Accused of all evils by farmers, jackdaws also have good backs according to justice.

The administrative court considers that the prefects do not bring in their decrees "no element allowing to establish with certainty that the species of jackdaw carries out a predation of great importance on the cultures, in particular corn and wheat, and that the damage observed and declared is exclusively or at the very least mainly attributable to them”.

Alternative solutions to put in place

Justice finally adds "that no alternative technique aimed at limiting the risk of crop predation" has been implemented by farmers to avoid felling.

A survey, commissioned by the Dreal at the University of Rennes 1 and which has just been published, recommends to limit the expansion of the species in Brittany to "limit access to nesting sites" by obstructing example chimneys.

The study also evokes the issue for farmers of limiting the access of jackdaws to food.

This requires greater closure of agricultural buildings or a change in practices such as “adjustment of sowing methods”.

Following the decision of the administrative court of Rennes, the association One Voice evokes in a press release its “joy” and its “relief”.

"After years of repeated shootings at jackdaws for spurious reasons, we are delighted that once again the arguments of the prefectures not seeking animal-friendly solutions have been defeated thanks to our procedures", indicates- she.

In December, the administrative court had already agreed with the League for the Protection of Birds by challenging the decree of the prefect of Côtes-d'Armor authorizing the slaughter of 8,000 jackdaws.

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