Question 16614 — hunting and fishing

Summary

Ms. Marine Hamelet questions the Minister Delegate to the Minister of Regional Planning and Decentralization, responsible for rural areas, on the absence of a precise regulatory framework governing the activity of blood dog handlers. Blood research constitutes an essential link in wildlife management. Each year, several tens of thousands of interventions make it possible to find injured animals after a shooting, thus limiting their suffering, reducing the health risks linked to carcasses abandoned in the wild and promoting venison which, without this research, would be lost. The environmental code, in its article L. 420-3, specifies that the search for an injured animal using a blood dog does not fall within the act of hunting. However, if this mission is recognized by law, no text today defines the status, skills or approval conditions for blood dog handlers. In practice, this activity is mainly based on training and approvals delivered by specialized associations, including the National Union for the Use of Red Dogs (UNUCR), whose seriousness is recognized by state services. However, the emergence of other structures applying selection criteria that are sometimes less demanding creates a heterogeneity of practices likely to harm the quality of interventions and the legal security of this activity. A national harmonization of the conditions of exercise, based on objective criteria such as the possession of a valid hunting license, the absence of convictions in terms of hunting police, adapted training, specific insurance as well as the success of the dogs in qualification tests, would ensure a high level of competence while promoting the development of this mission of general interest. The response given to Senator Cardoux on September 28, 2023 on this same subject was not considered suitable in the field, she wishes to know the Government's intentions regarding the creation of a national regulatory framework clearly defining the status of blood dog handlers and the conditions for carrying out this activity, which is essential for responsible management of wildlife.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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