Waterfowl hunting: controversy over the opening of the season during periods of drought

The Bird Protection League (LPO) and four other associations are calling for the postponement of the opening of waterfowl hunting in 44 departments which opens on Friday August 21. Faced with extreme drought in certain departments, repeated heatwaves and fires which destroyed certain French forests, the LPO asked the minister and the prefects to take this decision to grant respite to wildlife harassed, like humans, by the climatic events of this summer.

In Sologne, between Loiret, Loir-et-Cher and Cher, which has 3,200 ponds, hunters denounce a pretext to purely and simply prohibit their leisure. Nicolas Manssens, hunter and tenant of the Charrier pond, near the town of Augy-sur-Aubois, south of Bourges, on the Allier border, defends this position. The heatwaves affected the body of water less this year than in 2023, he assures: "We have had years with levels much lower than that. The extreme heat did not help the development of the young ducklings. But hey...".

Hunters demand a responsible approach

This is why Nicolas Manssens will not hunt on his pond on Sunday. But he, who chairs the Cher migratory game hunters association, which has around forty members, will join another hunting company of which he is a shareholder. “The opening is a bit like going back to school, we go around, we look at what we have,” he continues. “It’s a moment of sharing, of conviviality too. If there are 100 birds on the pond, we’re not going to massacre 100 birds.”

It is this responsible approach that he claims. They maintain this pond, acre it, that is to say there are corn feeders, millet planted for the winter. They also ensure reproduction there. "We make around twenty tube nests on this pond to have 15-20 broods, he explains. These are 15-20 broods which would not be made or which would be predated by crows or foxes, because they would be on the edge of the pond. It's a lot of work throughout the year."

"There, there are 100 or 150 birds. If we did a pond survey, there would be one, two birds, maybe three birds taken, because there are seven or eight of us hunting. In percentage terms, that doesn't even represent 5% of the population."

Nicolas Manssens, hunter and tenant of the Charrier pond

On the bank, behind the rose garden, lapwings and mallards take flight as we approach. At the edge of the water, we can clearly see that other animals come to drink there. “I think that by looking, we will find two or three deer feet,” says Nicolas Manssens.

Since they observe their terrain, hunters are already adapting, underlines Willy Gaubert, director of the Cher departmental hunters' federation. "On September 27, the general opening day of hunting in the Cher department, we will open certain species of small game. Many territories will wait, as usual, for the opening of the hare species, which takes place 15 days later, to start hunting. In two months, we will have a little more perspective on the consequences of heatwave episodes on wildlife."

“There is real attention to what is happening and we are not completely irresponsible in relation to the wildlife that surrounds us and the wildlife that we hunt.”

Willy Gaubert, director of the Cher departmental hunters’ federation

Nature protection associations defend the preservation of species and habitats

Direction Sassay, in Loir-et-Cher. On the road, it feels like autumn. “The forest has already had this color since at least July,” notes Marie Blondel, in charge of naturalist missions at Sologne nature environment. “The trees are suffering extremely from the lack of water, quite simply.”

Now 77% of French territory is affected by drought. “With the lack of water,” explains Marie Blondel, “all the species gather in the same place, those that are huntable, but also those that are non-huntable. And it is certain that by shooting the huntable species, nearby, we will disturb those that are protected.” They will perhaps go to the next body of water, “if there is water”. But, "if there is no water, they will have to go much further and they will become exhausted. They will have less respite to regain strength for their migration." Hunting ponds are all the more attractive when there is an abundance of food there. “It’s really a way to group them around the pond to better pull them around the pond,” says Marie Blondel. “Migratory species do not need to be fed, they know how to feed naturally very well.”

She therefore calls for a paradigm shift: "Hunting is a disturbance for species. But the basis is really to preserve habitats. We are not doing enough to preserve the environment in general. We have plenty of species that nest in trees. If you remove the trees, they will no longer be able to nest. We have species that live in groves, in hedges. Hedges represent an essential link in the food chain. They are all these small species which we don't necessarily pay attention to and which quietly disappear."

“Our goal is not to preserve the species until after they are still in good enough condition to be hunted. Our goal is just that they can continue.”

Marie Blondel, in charge of naturalist missions in Sologne nature environment

With 64 species of huntable birds, France holds the record in Europe, notes the Bird Protection League. With comparable territory and fauna, Spain and Italy only hunt 34 species. The Var prefecture plans to issue an order to prohibit hunting, which will open on September 13, "in burned wooded areas", excluding wild boars, to "promote the repopulation of burned areas by small game".