List of 'nuisance' animals that can be hunted and trapped in France now published
Decision reignites debate over the country's wildlife management policy
Foxes, stone martens and crows are among the animals that can be hunted, trapped or otherwise killed in France, after the government published its latest list of so-called nuisance species.
The list, known as the ESOD (espèces susceptibles d'occasionner des dégâts, or "species likely to cause damage"), is updated every three years by the Ministry for Ecological Transition.
It allows the animals listed to be hunted, trapped, captured or dug out of their burrows throughout the year, mainly to protect farming and livestock activities from damage.
The new list was published in the Journal Officiel (in French) on Friday, August 21.
Which animals are listed?
The rules vary depending on the animal and, in some cases, the département or even individual commune.
Weasels, stone martens (fouines) and pine martens (martres), for example, can be trapped all year round, but only under certain conditions. This includes within 250 metres of a building, a private or commercial livestock enterprise, or land used for poultry farming – or, in the case of the pine marten, beekeeping.
Other species on the list, again subject to varying conditions, include foxes, rooks, crows, magpies, jays and starlings.
Wildlife groups criticise the move
The move has drawn strong criticism from wildlife groups. Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, president of the Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux (LPO), France's bird protection league, said the decision was scientifically unjustified and made no economic sense, arguing that eradicating the listed species costs four times more than the damage they are blamed for.
The LPO has said it intends to challenge the order before the Conseil d'État, France's highest administrative court.
The criticism echoes the findings of a study by the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, published in March in the journal Biological Conservation, which found that culling animals classified as pests in France does not reduce the economic losses attributed to them, and for some species does not even lead to a fall in their numbers.
In other animal protection news, courts in several parts of France have suspended measures allowing badger hunting this summer, with judges saying that local authorities have not provided enough evidence to justify killing the animals.
