Komitee gegen den Vogelmord e.V. Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS)

Komitee gegen den Vogelmord e. V.
Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS)

  • deutsch
  • english
  • italiano
Spenden-Button

​Limsticks in Provence

Bird trapper in Provence with limesticks
Bird trapper in Provence with limesticks

Provence's reputation as an ideal holiday destination isn't a rule that fits for all: Feathered guests, who want to spend the winter in the milder climate of south-eastern France, are brutally pursued, trapped and killed en-masses.

As is the case in northern Italy, most hunters in Provence hunt migratory birds from so-called "camouflage huts". On specially cleared areas in the forest a hut is erected, in which the hunter lurks waiting for their prey. The area surrounding the shooting bunker is made attractive with bird food and water, but above all the owner of a camouflage hut (known as ‘Capanni’) needs one thing: decoy lures - live birds used to draw others of their kind before the shotguns. 

To get to these decoys, the French state has allowed the catching of thrushes until 2020. In five departments of Provence, thousands of hunters were allowed to lay out rods coated with sticky glue on which unsuspecting songbirds land and remain stuck. The conditions for this derogation were high: Each trapper was only allowed to catch 20 birds per year, had to be present at all times to release the birds unharmed, the glue-sticks were only allowed to be laid out in the morning hours and the sale of the birds was strictly prohibited.