Question 7937 — hunting and fishing

Summary

Ms. Martine Froger draws the attention of the Minister of Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, Forests, Sea and Fisheries to the measures restricting the hunting of migratory birds announced in April 2025, in particular the establishment of a moratorium on the pochard and the reduction of hunting periods for several other species. Since 2021, a group of experts mandated by the European Commission has been evaluating the sustainability of hunting of 33 migratory species. The conclusions issued in April 2025 only recommended adaptive management for three of them: the pochard, the corn quail and the whistling duck. No general moratorium or immediate ban was planned. However, France today seems to be unilaterally embarking on a more restrictive path than that envisaged at European level, by widening the limitations to other species not concerned by community work, such as quail, thrush, venison, or woodpigeon. These decisions directly affect waterfowl hunters, 80% of species taken at night are now targeted, as well as other hunting methods or species. This is already the case at the national level since a moratorium has already been put in place for the Capercaillie in July 2022 and another request for a moratorium concerning the Rock Ptarmigan is currently being examined, the MP is surprised by such a change of heart, while France had, in November 2024, rejected the first European recommendations deemed premature. She asks him the reasons for this change of position, which is out of step with European strategy and without any other Member State having taken similar measures. Finally, she questions the absence of prior consultation with stakeholders in the field, particularly hunter federations, whose expertise and knowledge of the natural environment and species could have usefully contributed to a more balanced approach.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

Timeline

No timeline events have been ingested for this record yet.

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

No version snapshots stored. Document URLs remain at the source.

Documents

No documents linked.

Sponsors

No sponsors or actors listed by the source.

Related records

No cross-record relationships stored yet.