PARIS — France’s top administrative court on Monday definitively banned the use of glue trapping to hunt birds, a technique that was denounced by animal protection groups as barbaric and endangering some species.
The Council of State ruled that glue trap hunting of thrushes and blackbirds “cannot be authorized” because it is contrary to European law.
In addition, the court stated that being a “traditional” hunting method doesn’t alone justify an exception.
The technique, used in southeastern France, consists of brushing branches with glue to trap birds, which are later used to attract other birds for shotgun hunters.
The ruling follows a decision in March of the Court of Justice of the European Union which stated that the practice was breaking EU rules.
The case has been brought by the One Voice animal welfare group and the French League for the Protection of Birds, which argued that the method is leading to the capture of many other species than those authorized and is causing severe problems for the birds.
The National Federation of Hunters was pushing for the continued use of the method in areas where it is considered “traditional.”
France was the last country in the EU to have a legal practice of glue trap hunting, after Italy, Spain and Malta had been previously previously condemned by the European Court of Justice for similar reasons.
