Ads that go wrong in the ranks of associations for the protection of nature. The hunting plan, presented Monday by Bérangère Couillard, Secretary of State for Ecology, does not prohibit Sunday hunting, one of its main demands.
“The abandonment of Sunday without hunting constitutes an unacceptable contempt for 80% of the French who expect a ceasefire,” judges the League for the Protection of Birds, which denounces “measures” in a press release.
“Kneel Before the Hunting Lobby”
The institution points out that almost 8 out of 10 French people are in favor of banning hunting on Sundays, according to an IFOP survey published on 2 January. In preparation for several months, the government plan that claims to want to “tend to zero accidents” has not maintained the principle of an anti-hunting day.
During the 2021-2022 period, the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) recorded 90 hunting accidents, including eight deaths.
“The government is on its knees before the hunting lobby,” hammered Marc Giraud, spokesman for the association for the protection of wild animals on BFMTV on Monday.
“Personally Responsible” for Accidents
The same story on the side of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, committed since the late 70s to the animal cause.
“Since you (Emmanuel Macron editor’s note) are personally opposed to the introduction of hunting-free Sundays, against the advice of the French and their majority, you will be personally responsible for Sunday accidents,” said the former actress.
Hunters are relieved by these announcements as concern has risen among their ranks in recent days. “Nature, by law, is not for everyone,” a fan in the Var explained to the BFMTV microphone on Sunday.
“The land is private or belongs to the State. We, in this case, are private owners. Nobody has anything to do with it if they are not the owner or the beneficiary. The hunter, with the right to hunt, is a beneficiary,” he argued again.
A “not up to the task” plan
Main measure of this plan led by Bérangère Couillard: the level of alcohol in the blood can no longer exceed 0.5 grams of alcohol in the blood as for motorists.
“It’s the least we can do. We are really not up to the problems that hunting causes,” Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, president of the League for the Protection of Birds, said on Sunday.
The government is following the recommendations of a surprising Senate report last September that “drunk hunting is not formally prohibited.”
The training of hunters, in particular that related to the handling of weapons, “will be reinforced”, promised again the Secretary of State for Biodiversity.
“Our theme is security 7 days a week”
During the presidential campaign, Emmanuel Macron, then a candidate for re-election, sent a long letter addressed to Willy Schraen, president of the National Federation of Hunters. He had praised the “passion” of the hunters and “their attachment” to the environment.
“We, our theme, is security 7 days a week. Banning one day a week is not a totem. Even if we did, it wouldn’t change much on the issue of accidents,” assumes a BFMTV.com ministerial adviser.
The provisions put forward by Bérangère Couillard must now be adopted by the National Assembly in the coming months.
Source: BFM TV
