Some arrive very early to satisfy their passion. “We entered the bay at 2 a.m.”, says Julien, who came from neighboring Pas de Calais with his friend Florian. Both participated this Saturday, August 6 at the opening of the waterfowl hunt, a very popular hunt in the region and especially in the Bay of Somme. But for the two boys, the results of this morning started at dawn can be summed up in 3 words: “Nothing at all.” But for Julien, the essential is not there: “We saw beautiful landscapes, we saw a magnificent sunrise. Then we shoot, we don’t shoot…”
– Florent Vautier
But the surprise guest of this hunt opening, not really desired, is the bird flu epidemic. Since May, after the discovery of a hundred dead birds, a temporary control zone (ZCT) has been in place in several towns in the bay. The transport of animals is prohibited. For the opening of the hunt to go as planned this Saturday, hunters had to declare their callers, those birds that lure game. A heavy context for Florian: “We are the first sentinels, to put things back together, but of course we are worried”. An observation shared by another hunter, Philippe: “For transport in particular, it will be complicated in the coming days!”
You have to live with
Nicolas Bruvier, the president of the Bay of Somme hunting association, with its 2300 members, is also well aware of the context but he salutes “a successful opening”. “It’s been going on for months. We’ve already had periods of avian flu. We have to turn our backs, and no doubt like for the Covid, live with it”explains this experienced hunter. The waterfowl hunting season traditionally lasts five months.