The highest administrative court in France banned the practice for the 2020-21 season, on Friday September 11. The 2020-21 season had been set to run from August 29 to February 20, 2021.
This decision overturns a decree of August 28 by the ecology ministry, which had authorised the hunting of 17,460 woodland turtle doves for the season ahead.
Le juge des référés du Conseil d’État suspend l’autorisation de la chasse de la tourterelle des bois pour la saison 2020-2021 >> https://t.co/4CIiivnTOP pic.twitter.com/FYUmns77aL
— Conseil d'État (@Conseil_Etat) September 11, 2020
The U-turn decision comes as the woodland turtledove population has dropped significantly in Europe, and several bird protection associations had lobbied against the authorisation of hunting for the 2020-21 season.
The Ligue de Protection des Oiseaux (LPO) is particularly against the practice.
The Conseil d’Etat judgement said: “[The Council] notes that as the species has dropped by 80% in 15 years, experts recommend a hunting ban for this wild bird - and the government has not brought any arguments allowing it to justify its authorisation [of hunting].”
The decision also comes as the European Commission has requested that the French state “put in place all measures” to help the woodland turtledove population return to a “good state of conservation”, the LPO said.
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