Traditional Lark Hunts: Court Suspends Government Authorizations – The HuffPost

LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP French Minister for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion Christophe Bechu leaves the Elysée presidential palace after participating in the weekly Council of Ministers in Paris, July 7, 2022. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP ) LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP Christophe Béchu reauthorized traditional hunting techniques at the beginning of October, the Council of State suspends these authorizations. ENVIRONMENT – Umpteenth snub for the executive. The Council of State suspended this Friday, October 21, authorizations for traditional lark hunting granted in certain departments by the government. At the beginning of October, the associations accused Emmanuel Macron of making a gift to the hunters, but it is the Minister for Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, who is the decision maker of the decrees authorizing these techniques. The interim judge of the Council of State, seized by the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) and One Voice, considered that the decrees issued by the government on October 4 risked contravening European law on the protection of birds. They considered that there was thus “a serious doubt as to their legality”, according to the decision consulted by AFP. Suspension after new authorizations “The Council of State inflicts yet another snub on Emmanuel Macron who persists in wanting to authorize these medieval practices and already deemed illegal under pressure from hunters”, rejoiced on Twitter the League for protection of birds (LPO). ⚖️ The @Conseil_Etat inflicts yet another snub on @EmmanuelMacron who persists in wanting to authorize these m… https://t.co/7wI3prIyLA — LPO France (@LPOFrance) See the tweet One year earlier, in October 2021, the decrees authorizing the traditional hunts of the lark and other birds (thrushes, blackbirds, lapwings, golden plovers) had already been suspended for similar reasons, via the same emergency procedure of the summary procedure. Without waiting, the government had resumed authorization decrees, only this time for the lark. “I assume the decision that has been taken,” declared Minister Béchu on Franceinfo on October 8, the decision-maker of these decrees, provoking the ire of associations. A first text authorized the capture of the lark “using pairs of horizontal nets” in Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne and Pyrénées-Atlantiques, from October 1 to November 20. A second decree specified the number of captures authorized with “pantes” for the 2022-2023 season, i.e. up to 56,672 in the Landes. Another text authorized hunting using cage traps (“matoles”) in the Landes and Lot-et-Garonne from October 1 to November 20, again with quotas of a few thousand individuals. Techniques banned by Europe “My dream would be for the Ministry of Ecological Transition to be concerned about birds that are disappearing rather than offering leisure to hunters,” Murielle Arnal told AFP. The president of One Voice is very upset against the minister Christophe Béchu: “he had said (in front of the deputies, editor’s note) that he would wait for the decision of our appeals from last year to authorize or not these hunts”. The European “birds” directive of 2009, however, prohibits the techniques of mass capture of birds without distinction of species. But a derogation is possible “provided that it is duly motivated and when there is no other satisfactory solution to capture certain birds”. However, considers the judge, “the Minister has not demonstrated that these traditional hunting methods would be the only ones making it possible to capture skylarks in these departments”, a result which can be obtained “by shooting or breeding”, explains a press release from the Council of State. But the decision on the merits of these cases has not yet been rendered. The hearing is to be held on Monday, October 24 before the Council of State. See also on The HuffPost: You cannot view this content because you have refused the cookies associated with content from third parties. If you want to view this content, you can change your choices.