Brussels, 17/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 16 June, the European Commission announced that it had called on France to comply with the EU directive on the conservation of wild birds and sent the country a reasoned opinion (second stage of the infringement procedure).
The Commission has criticised this member state for no putting an end to the poaching and killing of ortolan buntings (Emberiza hortulana), a non-huntable migratory bird species strictly protected under the birds directive (Directive 2009/147/EC).
This directive prohibits activities that directly threaten birds, such as their deliberate killing or capture, destruction of nests and removal of eggs, and associated activities, e.g. trading in live or dead birds, with special emphasis on the protection of habitats for endangered and migratory species.
Despite the warning letter the Commission sent to France in January 2014 in which it called for the country to put an immediate halt to illegal trapping of this bird, the French authorities are continuing to tolerate poaching and the ortolan buntings population has declined by 84% between 1980 and 2012. In its press release, the Commission states that “the poaching of ortolans in France is spoiling the conservation efforts undertaken by other Member States to reverse the decline of the species”. France now has two months to notify the Commission of measures taken to bring national legislation in line with EU legislation, otherwise, the Commission may decide to refer the French authorities to the Court of Justice of the EU. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)