On Wednesday 12 February, the European Commission referred France to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failure to comply with provisions on hunting in the Birds Directive (2009/147/EC), it announced in a press release.
France authorises the use of horizontal and vertical nets in five departments (Gers, Lot-et-Garonne, Gironde, Pyrénées-Atlantiques and les Landes) for the capture of five species of the pigeon family - by means of five regulatory acts from 2006, 2007 and 2009.
“The Birds Directive allows the hunting of those species. However, it bans means, devices or methods of large-scale or non-selective capture because of their impact on biodiversity as those practices risk significantly harming or killing non-targeted birds”.
“The use of nets to capture birds is prohibited, unless Member States meet the strict criteria for derogation allowed under the directive but France has failed to demonstrate that the disputed nets meet those criteria”, adds the Commission. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)