While flying over a forest of oaks and ash trees in the Pays Bazadais, birds can hear “rou-rouou-rou-rou-ru”. It’s Eric who coos to imitate the song of the woodpigeon. “Welcome to my palombière!“Residing in Lerm-et-Musset, in the South-Gironde, this retired forester is passionate about woodpigeon hunting, with nets and rifles. This essential practice in the South-West would be threatened with ban as is now capturing the lark using pantes or matoles.
“It’s a tradition, but for me, it’s a passion, and even more than a passion! I was born into it. I have my wife who hunts woodpigeon, my children. It’s a family affair” says Eric, 62, who spent years installing the tunnels around his cabin.
Jules Brelaz
Perched in “the guard”the surveillance post which overlooks the woodpigeon, the hunter coos and manipulates a call to attract the woodpigeons which migrate from North to South. “This is the truly awaited moment of the year. This is where we spend the whole month of October! Shall I serve you a coffee?”
“The chicken“to attract the woodpigeons to the ground, the”cages“, “the pest”THE “spies“, the “gallows” hung at the top of his oak trees… Eric patiently explains the jargon of woodpigeon hunting with his Leïka at his feet, an English Setter who always orbits around his master.
“Here it’s practically one pigeon house per family”
This traditional hunting is threatened, according to several hunting federations in the South-West. “Don’t touch my palombière”, says the retiree who has already gone to demonstrate in Mont-de-Marsan to defend his practice. It would be in negotiations that they want to ban us from woodpigeon hunting. But it would be very unfortunate for a lot of people, in my opinion, it would even be a revolution for hunters in the South-West.”
“We take a few dozen woodpigeons while we see thousands and thousands passing by. We are not harming the species“, assures the hunter who sometimes returns home empty-handed. When he hits the mark with his rifle, “we cook them roasted, we eat them as dove salmis, there are some who make pâté, dove confit.”
Jules Brelaz
More than just a hunt, it’s a South-West art of livingEric estimates. “We all meet up here with family or friends, it’s fun, moments of happiness in the palombière. My father was a hunter and when I was little I went to primary school here in Lerm. At lunchtime, I went to eat at La Palombière with my father and left for school at 2 p.m. These memories remain engraved in our entire body.”
“Yesterday the ortolan and the doves, today the lark and tomorrow the woodpigeon?”
In the village of Lerm-et-Musset, there are many lovers of traditional hunting. “These are traditions that we must absolutely preserve, says Jacques, who likes to tease the woodcock. Today, little by little, the lark is being removed from us, it was the ortolan, it was the doves and tomorrow it will be the woodpigeons!”
Jules Brelaz
“Dove hunting with nets is a tradition that has existed for I don’t know how many years”adds Aline, whose late husband owned a palombière. “It’s a passion for many hunters in Gironde, Lot-et-Garonne, Landes, it’s really a hunt to keep in my opinion.”
“It remains a tradition, but I still find it strange that we authorize hunting during a migration”remarks Daniel, a resident of Saint-Michel-de-Castelnau. “I do a lot of wildlife photography and game, as soon as they see us, they now equate humans with gunshots. That’s what I find unfortunate.”
“Afterwards, ban hunting? No because we still need to regulate to avoid accidents on the roads, continues Daniel. The wild boar reproduces 3 to 4 times a year! Pigeon hunting should not be banned, but perhaps the hunting time should be reduced, because there are the pest hunts, the general opening, the pheasant, etc., then there are the woodpigeons, the administrative raids, raids for the owners… In fact, we hear shootings all year round!”
After a gathering on Tuesday October 1st in Agen in defense of traditional huntsthe hunters of Gironde are calling to meet this Saturday, October 5 at 10:30 a.m. at the Domaine de Pachan in Ludon-Médoc “in honor of the lark hunting.
While pigeon hunting is open until November 20 inclusive, Eric is preparing to welcome his whole family. His wife even took several weeks off in October to enjoy woodpigeon hunting. “With my wife, we will soon be the grandpa and grandma of a little boy and I hope that he will be a future dove hunter.”
Jules Brelaz
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