the essential
The proliferation of wild boars and the reduction of hunting areas are worrying in Tarn-et-Garonne. Faced with record damage, hunters are focusing on the regulation and promotion of venison in a short circuit.
In terms of wild boars, the year 2025 promises to be a record year for the departmental hunting federation. At mid-season (in November), 2,500 wild boars had already been collected, 500 more than the previous year at the same period. “We must maintain pressure on this species which proliferates by adapting perfectly to weather conditions and areas where hunting is prohibited,” summarizes Thierry Cabanes, departmental president of hunters.
According to their calculations, the bill for damage caused by wildlife, and in particular by wild boars, should reach for the first time 180,000 euros in damages in orchards and in private homes. “We will do the accounts at the end of the season, next June, but we will far exceed the 130,000 euros spent last year. Despite the weekly mobilization of our 6,000 hunters, the regulation of the species remains insufficient. Development continuous industrial and commercial zones considerably reduce the spaces dedicated to hunting. We cannot shoot within 150 meters of roads and homes, which favors the proliferation of refuges for wild boars and. limits our regulatory actions. We risk reaching a situation where it will no longer be possible to reimburse damage caused by animals that have become inaccessible to hunting.”
Anticipate the route of the future LGV
It is therefore with great attention that the services of the Departmental Hunting Federation are preparing to work on future plans for the LGV (high-speed line), in order to plan in advance the location of passages for wildlife under the future railway right-of-way. “In 2025 and 2026, our teams will be hard at work alongside the DDT teams and the architects of the LGV route to determine the best locations for these crossings for wildlife,” explains Frédéric Lecapitaine, senior technician at the departmental hunting federation. Of the 67 kilometers of LGV lines, 30 municipalities and their hunting associations are concerned in Tarn-et-Garonne. With a non-huntable strip of 100 meters around the LGV, this represents 670 hectares that will soon be inaccessible to hunting, to which will be added the associated road infrastructure, real refuges for game where hunters will not be able to intervene. Year after year, we estimate that the LGV will create nearly 2,000 hectares of unhuntable zones in our department. It is therefore crucial to clarify the situation now to avoid hunters being held responsible for damage caused in these areas where their guns are prohibited.
-New standard venison rooms
The Departmental Hunting Federation, with the support of the Departmental Council, launched an ambitious program two years ago to bring up to standard around a hundred game cutting rooms spread across the department. Thirty rooms have already obtained approval from the departmental veterinary service, thirty others should receive it this year, and an additional thirty will be approved in 2026. This program, with a total cost of 2 million euros, is 40% funded. by the Department and half by local hunting associations. “The venison project is particularly close to our hearts, because it places hunters at the center of a perfectly traced, short-circuit food distribution system. By scrupulously respecting the standards, the hunting product can be distributed to general public, who will have access to quality local meat”, explains Thierry Cabanes.
At the same time, the services of the General Directorate of Food are working with the federation to obtain the necessary authorizations for the marketing, or even the donation, of hunting products cut into pieces. This experiment is currently being carried out in the Lauzerte venison room. “If these tests are conclusive, we hope to quickly obtain authorization to transform hunting products into pâtés and sausages on site. This progress would constitute a turning point in democratizing the consumption of our products,” concludes the president of the departmental federation of hunting. Faced with these challenges, the departmental hunting federation intends to continue its efforts to combine preservation of biodiversity, regulation of species and promotion of local products.
