Stone-crush traps in the french Cévennes
In the French Central Massif, an ancient method of catching birds has survived for thousands of years: 'stone-crush traps', or "tendelles" in French. They were banned for over 100 years, but the authorities never got a grip on the continued bird poaching. This only changed in November 2005, when stone-crush trapping was simply allowed again - the poachers became overnight custodians of a "traditional hunting method".
The trapping method is also one of the most brutal: Each trap consists of a limestone slab weighing between 3 to 10 kilograms, which is propped up with a construction of small sticks and baited with fresh juniper berries. Birds that try to eat the berries make contact with the sticks and are buried under the falling slab. Many birds are not killed immediately, but bleed to death, suffocate or die of thirst. Numerous animals die also from hypothermia, because in the high-altitude of the region, the temperatures do not rise over 0 degrees in the winter even during the day.
Fieldfare, redwing, song thrushes, mistle thrushes, and blackbirds were permitted to be trapped. But far too often other protected species were also among the victims, especially robins, coal tits, meadow pipits and chaffinches.
As these species are protected by the EU Birds Directive, the use of indiscriminate killing traps is strictly prohibited throughout Europe. Nevertheless, "tendelles" were permitted to be used in 32 municipalities in southern France - officially around 20,000 traps.
The Paris Minister of the Environment justified the authorisation with the development of a new trap model with which the smaller, protected birds can allegedly be caught alive but not killed. With several so called 'expert' opinions, the French government had convinced the EU Commission in Brussels that the trapping method was in fact selective.
CABS investigations in the Cévennes.
Between December 2006 and January 2010, CABS members identified several dozen trapping sites with around 2,000 stone-crush traps and documented their use. The aim was to verify the figures of the French government that led to the derogation being approved.
The results were clear: as expected, the traps did not only contain thrushes, but >10% protected bird species - there is no question of "selectivity". The claim that protected birds would always be buried alive under the heavy limestone slabs could also be refuted: 75% of all birds caught were dead, whether thrushes or protected birds. Those who could be rescued alive were usually so badly injured that they could not be released again. Not a single living specimen of the protected species was found.
The catch quota, determined by the French government, also turned out to be far too low: the study presented in Brussels by the French Ministry of the Environment stated that each bird trapper would catch only 0.3 birds per day. With the 92 hunting days allowed, each hunter could catch only 27 birds per season - completely untrustworthy figures given the enormous effort involved. Our investigations revealed that with every single trapping system 2.25 birds can be caught daily, i.e. more than 200 birds during one season. With 20,000 approved traps this meant 50,000 birds!
Even the French state hunting agency ONFCS expressed considerable doubts about the studies carried out by its own government. The main criticism was that almost all the figures presented on selectivity and catch rates were collected by the bird trappers themselves or obviously falsified. In other words, the poachers have been able to calculate their traps until they were "eligible for approval".
The Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) drew up a comprehensive report on the stone-crush traps and presented it to the EU Commission in Brussels.
Through lawsuits also filed by our partner association LPO, the Supreme Court has declared the use of stone-crush traps illegal in 2021, 2022 and with a final ruling in late 2023. However, the government in Paris seems to continue looking for tricks to re-authorise bird trapping! In January 2025, a Committee team inspected all known trapping sites and surrounding areas in the departments of Lozère and Aveyron and found no active traps! Definitely a successful call for celebration!