The kick-off of the marmot hunt was given in France on Sunday 11 September. This hunt, which could be described as traditional, is practiced in ten departments. NGOs are calling for its ban: they are 18 to have published a forum on Sunday. They believe that hunting is an additional threat to an already fragile species.
According to figures from hunters, 342 marmots were killed in the Savoie department, even though they embody part of the identity and culture of the mountains. Aurélien Meignan manages the Femma refuge, in the Vanoise National Park (Savoie). “There, for example, by the window of the refuge, I count four…” he notes as he answers our questions. People come with their families to see the marmots, he says. “Whether it’s the grandparents who come to show them to their grandchildren, or their parents, there is something of a transmission that is quite nice. The advantage of the groundhog is that it is animal that can be seen for sure when you are in the mountains.”
>> This shot of a marmot surprised by a vixen is the best wildlife photo of 2019
However, hunting is authorized in this department, but also in Isère, or in the Alpes-Maritimes. In this department, it is open for just under a month. It is a traditional hunt: the marmot is no longer really eaten, believes the former deputy of the Alpes-Maritimes Loïc Dombreval, who had already asked for a ban on this hunt last year. “Are these groundhogs eaten? I can’t tell you… Groundhog stew, since it exists, shouldn’t be a very common dish and it’s not worth killing this animal.”
“Let the marmots sleep and let them whistle in peace!”
Loïc Dombreval, former MP for the Alpes-Maritimesat franceinfo
What then justifies maintaining this hunt when the marmot is the subject of specific protection measures? The marmot is indeed one of the animals protected by the Bern Convention on the conservation of wildlife and the natural environment. But since there is no count, we do not know what the state is the population, notes Jean-David Abel, administrator of Mountain Wilderness. “It is absolutely necessary to have indicators. There are many species, for example mountain ungulates, chamois, etc., which are monitored by the State, by hunting federations, by protection associations. marmots, no. We are in the maintenance of a traditional hunt, without tools to measure if we are not doing stupid things.
The associations are therefore asking for a suspension of hunting while waiting to have a precise photograph of the state of marmots in France. They are already weakening, says Pauline di Nicolantino. She chairs the Justice Animals Savoie association. “This is a population that has been declining since the 1990s, she assures. It is a victim of global warming, the behavior of dogs, hikers, the artificialization of the soil, etc. For us, it’s a completely absurd situation and that’s why we’re asking for a ban on marmot hunting.”
This situation illustrates the state of traditional hunting in France. They are supported by the government, often in contradiction with European law and administrative justice, which regularly suspends authorization decrees.
Asked, the hunters of Savoie who are on the front line on the subject did not follow up.