France is the last country to allow it. Emmanuel Macron has suspended the glue hunt for thrushes and blackbirds, the Élysée announced Thursday, August 27. And this, pending a response from the Court of Justice of the European Union on this controversial method of hunting birds.

The Head of State made this decision, Wednesday August 26, after a meeting with the President of the National Federation of Hunters Willy Schraen, in the presence of the Minister of Ecological Transition Barbara Pompili.

On the other hand, "the quotas of other traditional hunts are maintained at their level of last year", added the Elysee.

From 42,000 to zero

On July 2, the European Commission had once again asked France to put an end to "illegal hunting and to re-examine its methods of capturing birds", pointing out in particular the slime hunting for thrushes, and nets for larks.

At the end of 2019, the Council of State had referred the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union to clarify whether the "Birds" directive allowed the capture of certain species of wild birds with glue, without having obtained answer for now.

By deciding to set at zero for this season the glue hunting quota for thrushes and blackbirds, against 42,000 last season, Emmanuel Macron is responding to both the demands of environmentalists and the European Commission.

A position supported by Barbara Pompili who, by receiving the hunters shortly after her appointment in mid-July, had repeated to them that they wanted to ban this practice, according to the Federation. Once trapped with glue, the small birds are captured and caged to serve, singing, to attract others to the hunters.

France is the last country in Europe to allow it

These non-selective hunting methods, prohibited by a 2009 directive on the protection of birds except for exceptions, have long been denounced by bird protection associations and environmentalists.

France is the last country in Europe to authorize it in five departments in the South-East (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Bouches-du-Rhône, Var and Vaucluse).

Worried about the minister's position and a possible ban, the hunters were received at Matignon on August 7 and announced a demonstration on August 8 near Fort de Brégançon - where Emmanuel Macron spent his holidays - but finally had it canceled.

The national secretary of Europe Ecology The Greens Julien Bayou had criticized the government of Jean Castex at the beginning of August, which, according to him, "procrastinates on the end of the cruel hunt for glue".

With AFP

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