Animal rights activists rally to ban marmot hunting

Nearly 90,000 people are demanding in a petition that we stop hunting marmots. This period, the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, should be a time of celebration. In the Alps, the Pyrenees or the Massif Central, this is the time of year when marmots build up reserves. They eat everything that falls under their paws until they become all round, before curling up from mid-October in a warm place. Feasting in the summer, sleeping all winter while waiting for the spring sun, that may sound like a dream. But for a few days now, hikers have given way in the mountain pastures to whistle hunters, as they are called, because of the shrill cry that marmots make when in danger. Hunters who, according to the Hunting Federation magazine, killed more than 500 marmots in Savoie alone in 2023, an increase of 22% compared to the previous season.

The Savoie Animal Justice Association (Ajas) mobilized on Saturday, September 7, in Chambéry to demand that marmot hunting be stopped. In this regard, the LR senator of Val-d’Oise, Arnaud Bazin, a veterinarian, who supports this movement, recalls that in Italy marmot hunting is already banned. And that nearly 70% of French people are calling for this measure. It is not only hunters who threaten marmots, it is also the case of artificialization of soils, the decrease in snow cover in winter, heat waves and hikers’ dogs. Although there is no official count, several scientific studies prove the decline of marmots. The government, for its part, does not want to hear about banning hunting, this species is not classified as threatened. The president of the Federation of Hunters of Savoie, questioned, Thursday September 5 by The Parisianeven claims that we cannot let them proliferate, emphasizing his pleasure in returning to the chalet for them “simmer in a stew accompanied by a good polenta”.