France grants long-awaited protection to two threatened birds

The capercaillie and alpine rock ptarmigan have been given full legal protection in France, following years of campaigning by environmental groups.

Two orders published in the Journal officiel on September 8 place the birds on France’s list of protected species.

Hunting them is now prohibited, while their eggs and nests, as well as breeding and resting sites, cannot be destroyed, altered or degraded. 

Breaking the rules, deliberately or through gross negligence can, under France’s Environmental Code, be punished by up to three years in prison and a €150,000 fine.

“It is a great satisfaction, which should really be quite ordinary,” Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, president of the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO), told The Connexion.

“The fact that it has taken so long to reach a result that is necessary shows the considerable work that has to be done to preserve species.”

The capercaillie (grand tétras) is Europe’s largest ‘galliform’ bird, referring to the family including pheasants, peacocks and chickens.

This emblematic bird of the Pyrenean forests can weigh 5kg and males perform spectacular dawn courtship displays in areas known as places de chant.

“It is a very beautiful bird,” said Mr Bougrain-Dubourg. “For mountain people, the capercaillie is a highly symbolic bird.”

The species has suffered a severe decline in the Pyrenees, where numbers have fallen by almost 80% since 1960, according to the LPO. Small populations also remain in Jura and Vosges.

The alpine rock ptarmigan (Lagopède alpin), meanwhile, is a smaller mountain bird found in France only in the Alps and Pyrenees. 

It is especially associated with the high Alps – the Ecrins national park calls it a ‘legendary bird’ that many hikers dream of seeing.

“It has an exceptional natural ability to adapt,” said Mr Bougrain-Dubourg. “In winter, in the snow, it is white. In spring, it takes on a more rocky colour, which allows it to blend into the natural environment.”

However, both species face growing pressure. “The situation is really dramatic,” said Mr Bougrain-Dubourg.

“There was hunting for a long time. And today, on top of all that, there is global warming, which is progressively reducing their habitat.

“There is also disturbance caused by human activities in the mountains, as well as the artificialisation of natural areas.”

The capercaillie had previously been protected by a five-year suspension of hunting introduced in 2022. That measure has now been repealed and replaced by permanent protection.

The new status means that any development in the birds’ habitats must now take their protection into account. 

“If the infrastructure needed for the Olympic Games, for example, were to encroach on the territory of the alpine rock ptarmigan, in theory the organisers would have to move the infrastructure,” he said.

However, even though the LPO welcomed the decision, it also said further action would be needed to reverse the decline of threatened bird species.

“In France, more than 60 species of birds are hunted, compared with an average of 30 in the rest of Europe,” said Mr Bougrain-Dubourg.