A safe haven for nature to thrive
The Wild animal preservation charity Aspas has set up a programme called Espace which it is using to buy land to be completely turned over to nature so flora and fauna can flourish without human intervention.
The sites are not managed in any way but left to develop naturally. Motorised traffic is banned but people can visit as long as they respect the regulations in force – no hunting, no forestry, no fishing, no littering or dumping, no fires, no motorised traffic, no picking or collecting, no dogs unless on a lead and no farming (either crops or livestock).
These wildlife reserves are desperately needed, says Aspas, because hunting is allowed in more than 70% of state-owned nature reserves and in all the new “Réserves de France”. Forestry is also allowed in all national parks and damages the eco-system because many species depend on dead or rotting wood.
Aspas also notes that some national parks are so heavily visited that animals living there become traumatised and fail to thrive.
The first reserve was created in 2012 when Aspas bought 105 hectares of woodland in Véronne in the Drôme, to make the “Réserve de Vie Sauvage (RVS) du Grand Barry”. Since then, it has acquired a further 25 hectares of land in order to expand the reserve.
It has also established a 60-hectare wetlands reserve, the RVS des Deux Lacs, in Châteauneuf-du-Rhône and received the donation of 60 hectares of forests in the Côtes-d’Armor, which has now become RVS Trégor.
Aspas is asking Connexion readers to let them know of any land for sale in France which could become an RVS, particularly if it is home to a rich variety of wildlife. They are also appealing for donations of money and land.
Along the same lines, anyone who does not want hunters on their land (whether owned or rented), can officially establish it as a refuge, making it illegal for people to hunt on it.
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If you do this via Aspas if you are one of their members and they will deal with the paperwork for you and supply you with official wooden “Aspas Refuge” notices. They will also give you legal advice if local hunters do not respect the signs. Although the form on the website www.aspas-nature.org is only available in French it is easy and quick to fill in.
