Bowhunting (chasse à l’arc) is becoming an increasingly popular pursuit in France, 30 years after it was formally authorised.
Recent television reports have highlighted how even peri-urban areas around Paris have seen a growth in the sport – much to the surprise of some home-owners.
These hunts are often organised with the agreement of the Office français de la biodiversité (OFB), which oversees hunting regulation among other duties and often receives complaints when deer and wild boar in woods move into suburban gardens and create disruption.
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“Most of the time when people hunt in peri-urban areas they have the permission of the landowner to do so,” said Eric de Lavenne, president of the national Fédération Française des Chasseurs à l'Arc (FFCA).
“It is true that it is quieter, and that people living nearby might not be aware that there are hunters there.
Although bowhunting has been practised for centuries in France, it was virtually outlawed until the 1970s.
Critics of the practice, including many animal welfare organisations, have branded it cruel, while others in the hunting community traditionally dismissed those who favoured bows and arrows as poachers.
“In the 1970s, bowhunters began to organise in spite of opposition. It was found that, contrary to common belief in many hunting associations, there were no rules that outlawed the practice,” said Mr de Lavenne.
The FFCA was founded in 1985, and in 1995 the current rules for bowhunting were formalised.
Permission to hunt
Hunters are required to have a permis de chasse (which allows hunting with firearms) from the OFB. They must also have a separate licence to hunt with a bow and arrow, which is only obtained after further training and a day-long exam.
Bowhunters are subject to the same quotas and must buy the same markers (known as bracelets) to put on animals they kill, as with firearm hunters.
Although bowhunting is popular in many other countries, Mr de Lavenne says the trend in France is for these hunts to be organised in groups rather than being a solitary pursuit.
“Hunting for deer and boar with firearms in France is usually done collectively, with organised beatings (a method used to flush game animals out of cover so they move toward waiting hunters), often with dogs.
Eric de Lavenne with his bowEric de Lavenne
This collective practice also extends to bowhunting, far more often than in other countries.
“The big difference is that a bowhunter has to be much closer to the animal before they shoot, and they can only shoot if they have a clear view of the chest area because they have to shoot at the heart and lungs,” he said.
“In a collective hunt, the beaters move more slowly so that the animals do likewise along their usual paths. The hunters wait close to these paths.
“Outside collective hunts, bowhunters usually hunt individually, but with other hunters nearby to help recover the game if they have made a kill.”
Almost all of the animals killed by bow and arrow in France are shot at a range of between 10 to 13 metres.
Typically, after being hit by an arrow the deer or boar leap away and run for around 50 metres before dying from blood loss.
Legal obligations
Hunters have a legal obligation to track every animal they hit, but Mr de Lavenne says it is rare for animals hit by an arrow to move more than 70 metres before dying.
Rules set out the strength of the bows which can be used, and the weight of the arrows, which are typically heavier than arrows used for target shooting.
Arrowheads have springloaded blades that open up when a target is hit.
Hunters are not allowed to shoot in the air, and must ensure the direction of the arrow is downwards.
Equipment is generally bought in specialised archery shops. Bows are now usually made in the United States or China.
Straight longbows, curved bows and pulley bows are all used. French artisans also make bows tailored to individual hunters, with each taking around 40 hours to make.
Mr de Lavenne says that most bowhunters are very reflective about why they hunt.
“It is close-contact hunting, which makes it different from hunting with a firearm; you have to be aware of every sound, smell and movement around you.
“You must have great self-control, not only to train with a bow and arrow so you can shoot well, but also so you can overcome the stress of waiting until the animal comes close enough, staying absolutely still so it does not see you, and you have a clear shot.
“A general rule is to avoid eye contact, because as soon as the animal sees your eyes, it runs away.
“Overall, you have to be in contact with the environment much more than when you hunt with a firearm because conditions for bowhunting vary from place to place, and day to day.”
