In the Hautes-Alpes, hunting suffered another hard blow. Hunting for mountain galliforms, such as the bartavel partridge and the black grouse, is now suspended.
The decision was rendered last week by the Marseille administrative court. This announcement marks a new victory for the wildlife protection associations, initiators of this approach. On the other hand, Alpine hunters are determined to defend this emblematic hunt.
Thus, on Monday October 21, the administrative court of Marseille has decided to suspend the hunting of bartavelle partridge and black grouse throughout the Hautes-Alpes department. This is a new victory for three associations active in animal protection: One Voicethe League for the Protection of Birds Paca and the Alpine Nature Protection Society. These organizations filed an appeal on September 30. Their objective was to obtain the suspension of the prefectural decree authorizing the hunting of galliformes.
The order in question provided for sampling quotas for the period from September 29 to November 11. He authorized the hunting of 80 black grouse and 162 bartavel partridges. One Voice welcomes this suspension. The association underlines in a press release:
“The 160 bartavel partridges and 73 black grouse out of the 80 which were subject to exceptional slaughter authorization in the Hautes-Alpes department have been saved. The Marseille judge recognized that this practice was detrimental to their conservation. It cannot justify the extinction of animals even though they are listed on the IUCN, the red list of threatened species.”
The anger of the Alpine hunters
Hunters from Hautes-Alpes, for their part, express strong anger at this decision. Already last year, they faced restrictions. Indeed, in October 2023a prefectural decree setting the hunting periods and quotas for the 2023-2024 season had already been suspended following two interim orders issued by the same court.
The Hautes-Alpes Hunting Federation declares in a press release his discontent. She deplores that this decision is justified:
“exclusively on a formal defect, namely the absence of public consultation for the prefectural decree of September 15, 2023 setting the hunting plan ranges”. The Federation specifies that “the work of the Federation and the hunters is not called into question by this case law”.
Hunters also highlight their efforts to preserve these mountain species. They impose themselves drastic quotas and organize annual reproduction monitoring galliforms. Furthermore, this hunt represents a tradition deeply rooted in Alpine culture. Practitioners claim that their actions actively contribute to the conservation of these birds.
The Federation also recalled that black grouse hunting remains permitted in the Northern Prealps regionparticularly in the Dévoluy-Bure sector. She also deeply regrets “the suspension of the hunting of mountain galliforms in other bioclimatic regions”. Faced with repeated protests from anti-hunting associations, the Fédération des Hautes-Alpes concludes its press release by affirming its determination to “defend this emblematic hunt in the face of activism and incessant legal attacks”.
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