Are the Doubs chamois in danger? ? This is what several animal defense associations fear, including the Brigitte Bardot Foundation: « I learned with horror that the Doubs hunting plan, in progress until January 29, 2025, authorizes the harvest of nearly 600 chamois on the grounds of “regulating” the species. »writes its president Brigitte Bardot, in a letter addressed on December 31 to the prefect, Rémi Bastille. A petition against this slaughter, launched in November by the local association Humanimo, has now collected more than 68,000 signatures.
As for the Association for the Protection of Wild Animals (Aspas), it filed an appeal on the merits against the prefectural decree, published on August 21, 2024, before the administrative court of Besançon, and requests a moratorium on the hunting of this species. The chamois is in fact not one of the protected species, its conservation status being considered favorable.
« Totally unacceptable carnage », « a massacre », « a scandal »… THE ONG don’t mince their words. « The chamois is a peaceful ungulate, capable of self-regulating and which does not cause any significant nuisance to human activities. It is therefore only killed for the leisure of a few, by “cultural tradition” rather than by any need for regulation. »accuses Aspas in a press release dated January 2.
According to her, in the Doubs, chamois have been in decline for several years, « victims in particular of hunting and undoubtedly also of climate change ». By authorizing hunters to kill up to 594 individuals, between September 9, 2024 and January 29, 2025, the prefecture would condemn « 52 % of a population estimated at 1,140 individuals »assures Aspas. In fact, this figure of 594 corresponds to the maximum authorized. The prefect requires hunters to slaughter a minimum of 259 animals for this season.
243 chamois collected on January 2
Thibaut Powolny, technical and scientific director of the Departmental Hunting Federation (FDC) of Doubs, said « very surprised by the extent of this controversy » and disputes the accusations.
« The figures given are false. On the one hand, the federation only awarded 478 bracelets [dispositif de marquage obligatoire posé sur chaque animal tué] to its members. Which means that there cannot be more samples. Moreover, we will probably not reach this figure, because as of January 2, only 243 chamois have been collected since September. On the other hand, these associations use our own figures and misinterpret them. »
He explains that the FDC25 carries out counts each year within the framework of a well-defined protocol. During the four Saturdays of April, the chamois visible on 600 plots, always the same, in the department are counted. « In 2024, we counted 1,140 chamois, compared to 1,396 in 2023. But that absolutely does not correspond to the total number in the department ! This just allows us to have an idea of the evolution of populations. »
Faced with the decline observed in recent years, hunters have reduced the number of bracelets awarded, going from 662 in 2022 to 648 in 2023, then to 478 for the 2024-2025 season.
The problem of browsing
Nobody knows today how many chamois live in the Franche-Comté forests, confirms Christian Bulle, president of Fransylva Franche-Comté, a union organization of forest owners.
« But the damage they cause on reforestation plots is very significant in certain rocky areas of the Doubs department.he explains. The chamois will eat the terminal buds of trees, particularly sycamore maples in summer and fir trees in winter, which are more palatable to them. However, it is precisely these species that interest us the most, because they are more resistant to climate change. »
It is in the rocky bars that the chamois finds refuge.
Flickr/CC BY 2.0/Jean Latour
This phenomenon of browsing is problematic for foresters, because without a terminal bud, the growth of the tree is hampered. « The lateral buds will start again and create a fork, which is prohibitive for the growth of the treeexplains Christian Bulle. During the last great drought, we had very serious damage: the fir trees which had been subject to repeated grazing all died. »
Insufficient arguments for Aspas: « Even if there was damage, there is no way to attribute it with certainty to the chamois. And to avoid them, simply protect the plants using anti-game sheaths. ! »
A rock animal
The browsing of chamois, however, seems well identified, in particular because the chamois will tend when it lowers its head to graze on all the leaves or buds available, unlike the deer which will rather « peck a branch to the right, to the left »details Christian Bulle. The forester also explains that the goat – which measures 80 cm at the withers – can attack buds located up to 1 m or 1 m 20, therefore beyond what the deer can reach. In winter, when the snow reaches 60 or 80 cm, it can cause damage up to 1.80 m.
Another difference with the deer: the chamois does not frequent exactly the same areas. It is mainly found above or below rocky bars. Christian Bulle mentions the case of plots located in Haut-Doubs, in the Jougne and Métabief sector, where tree regeneration was impossible due to a high population of chamois. After numerous fellings, reforestation was able to resume, he assures.
Finally, if the chamois is less widespread than the deer, its number can cause more damage locally. « The chamois has a very different biology from the deer. It tends to live in groups and in stabilized areas. The herd can increase rapidly, and go from around ten to a few dozen individuals. »précise Thibaut Powolny.
Expensive nets that don’t resist snow
As for anti-game protection, « they are effective… when they hold »considers Christian Bulle. « These 1.20 m nets often do not resist heavy snowfall, they collapse. They are also expensive: a plant without protection costs 3 euros. You have to add 4 euros if you put a net. The other downside is that they are made of plastic, which is not great for the environment. And to remove them, it costs as much as to install them. »
These protections are generally only installed on plots of artificial regeneration, that is to say those replanted by foresters. For areas of natural regeneration, foresters tend to paint young trees « a slightly siliceous paste, which gives an emery cloth effect, off-putting for ungulates »says the president of Fransylva Franche-Comté. But according to him, the cost of installation turns out to be staggering, and the application is complex to carry out each year.
The stakes for Doubs foresters are important: « Faced with climate change and bark beetle attacks, forests are suffering enormously. Foresters have obtained a lot of money under the France Relance plan to replant, but they have performance obligations »explains Thibaut Powolny. Hunters too: « If they do not reach the minimum number of samples provided by the prefecture [259 pour cette saison]forest owners can take action against them in the event of damage »recalls the technical director of the FDC25. This is what happened the past two years, the minimum quota of deer killed not having been reached.
As for Aspas, it notes that no truly objective data has been provided to the prefecture on the extent of the damage, the areas affected, the financial pressure felt, the possible delay in reforestation, etc. « In the absence of serious evidence which would tend to demonstrate that chamois would endanger the Jura forests, Aspas urgently requests a moratorium on the hunting of this species. ! » The debate around the chamois is far from over.
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