France to renew list of animals classed as 'susceptible to cause damage': see which species are included
The new three-year classification would allow certain species to be trapped or shot outside the hunting season
Published
The French government has opened a public consultation on a draft decree that would renew the list of wildlife species classified as "susceptible to cause damage” for the next three years.
The consultation, which runs until July 30, concerns Group 2 ESOD (Espèces Susceptibles d'Occasionner des Dégâtsspecies), and is reviewed every three years. If adopted the decree will apply from 2026 to 2029, replacing the previous one that expired on July 1.
Species classified as ESOD can be destroyed outside the normal hunting season to prevent significant damage to agriculture, biodiversity, property or, in some cases, public health and safety.
Which animals are affected?
The draft decree sets out rules for the weasel, beech marten, pine marten, red fox, rook, carrion crow, Eurasian magpie, Eurasian jay and common starling. However, these species are not classified across the whole of France.
Instead, the annex to the decree specifies where each species is listed, with classifications applying to entire departments or, in some cases, only to specific communes.
The European polecat is not included after the Conseil d'Etat removed it from the Group 2 ESOD list in 2021, a decision confirmed in 2025. The pine marten, which was also removed from the previous list by the Conseil d'Etat in 2025, has been reinstated but only in 14 departments, after updated conservation data found it met the legal criteria for classification in those areas.
The consultation does not concern Group 1 ESOD species, which are invasive non-native animals permanently classified nationwide (raccoon dog, American mink, raccoon, coypu, muskrat and Canada goose), or Group 3 species, which are determined each year by prefects.
The text says the classification is not intended to eradicate species but to allow additional control measures where local damage has been noticed.
When a species is on the list, it may be destroyed by shooting or trapping outside the normal hunting season. Foxes may also be removed by digging out dens.
Hunters and wildlife groups call for opposition
Both hunting organisations and wildlife protection groups have reacted to the proposal.
In a notice published on July 15, the Fédération des chasseurs du Gard said it had been alerted by the Fédération nationale des chasseurs (FNC) after the consultation was launched.
The federation said the draft decree "suspends the right to destroy foxes" in seven Gard communes: Beaucaire, Codognan, Gallargues-le-Montueux, Manduel, Mus, Saint-Gilles and Vergèze. For that reason, it urged its members to "testify [their] opposition to this downgrading" by taking part in the consultation.
On the other hand, wildlife associations have renewed their criticism.
“More than 600,000 foxes are killed every year in France” Aspas (NGO defending wildlife populations) said in a press release and argued that the current system lacks “solid scientific justification.”
Aspas said that studies indicate that widespread fox culling is ineffective or even counterproductive and also highlighted the animal's role in regulating rodent populations.
Its spokeswoman, Yolaine de la Bigne, said: "When scientific facts are ignored, the law becomes an essential lever. The state can no longer ignore science... and continue to support policies that do not serve the public interest."
The consultation remains open until July 30 and people can submit comments through the ministry's consultation website. The ministry asks contributors to include either "favorable" or "défavorable" in the title of their submission.
