chris pp

Would these have been the friends of the hundreds of poachers in the Carmargue earlier this year that couldn't wait for the season to open? Mind you, in that case the authorities "did a Nelson" but I suppose it wasn't in the centre of a town. http://www.lpo.fr/comm/2005/comm-2005-08-17.shtml  Did someone say something about the bad behaviour of hunt protesters recently on another thread? Cheers, Chris

Hi John, The link below is for Bat specialists / rescue in France.  http://www.sfepm.org/groupeChiropteres.htm Where abouts are you? Chris  

I really don't wish to argue this "on forum" but to use a shot gun on your own land does require a permis de chasse, no one is outside of this law - it is a permit to hunt and comes under national laws. The normal hunting seasons apply as well.   Silencers of course are illegal! I would seriously advise any one wishing to hunt or own firearms of any nature in France to verify for themselves with the authorities what the legal situation is, which is why I pointed you to the ONCFS which is the relevant body.  After the event it will not do you any good to say "well, so and so said etc". Get it from the horses mouth, it is pretty much all covered on the ONCFS web site, contact them. Vis a vis fencing - suggest you look at some court cases. Chris

You will need a permis de chasse for the shotgun even if you only use it on your own property, info from: http://www.oncfs.gouv.fr/  you will be able to obtain all the info. you need from them, including temporary importation. There is no requirement for any permit for the .22 Best, Chris  

I have yet to taste this famous Vendée ragondin pâté - where do you buy it? Generally moles don't surface that often, normally it's young that are being chased out to find their own territory or if the ground becomes waterlogged, which makes them fairly immune to most predation. Both Barn Owls and Tawny Owls will eat moles but it seems to make up a very small part of their diet, I guess this could be because they are not easily available. Size may be a factor, both prefer smaller creatures, easier to carry. Be interesting to see how your chickens make out, may just have been opportunistic, chickens seem to have a go at anything given half the chance. Chris.

I do not wish to change France into another Britain, what a strange idea. The movement to make Sunday a hunt free day is FRENCH,  ASPAS is a French association, the vast majority of its members are French. I live here, I work here, I am an active member of many French associations and I give a large part of my spare time assisting them, some would call this integration. Don't assume that everybody posting on this forum is British, that would be a grave error and if you don't mind me saying so a trifle too " British "??? Chris.  

crdale.Chris.  Maybe my point about a permis wasn't clear, it was really just to clarify that it isn't just hunting with guns that require permission and of course you need a different qualification for a shotgun than a high velocity rifle, looking at the number of permits issued for each category shows that clearly enough.   I have no idea how they differentiate in France between followers and hunters ( I am sure it is different to the UK). In France with Chassse à courre normally only two people are permitted to be armed with a dagger but the others are still part of the hunt. If you read the link it explains how an area is controlled and Pyrénées Atlantique seems to have an awful lot of hectares already accounted for and I suspect that is where Mr Quirck has his problemette. Best, Chris  

Sorry, I just had to post this link to Charente Libre -  hunters in court for not killing enough. http://www.charentelibre.com/article.php?id_sequence=0&id_article=33097  Chris.  

oops, forgot the link, too busy thinking about going out. http://www.senat.fr/rap/l98-408/l98-4081.html  Chris

I think you will find that you need a permit to hunt regardless of which form your hunting takes, bow & arrow, falconry, knife, spear, sword, glue, mist net, mounted or firearm. It is also required that you have the consent of the landowners, this right has normally been "given up" to an ACA or ACCA  or made into a private hunt (read the link, I am sorry it's a bit long). This to my way of thinking is what is interesting in the case of Mr Quirk. Good reading, Chris

Web site ONCFS :  http://www.oncfs.gouv.fr/  Fed. chasse Vienne : http://www.chasse-en-vienne.com/jourdui.htm# ONCFS 1 Rue Denis Papin, Beaulieu, 86000 Poitiers. Tel: 05 49 52 01 50 Chef du Service de Garderie, Chef de Groupement. Jean Chaleroux. You will be able to get all the information that you require using those sources. Chris.  

OK, I am a bit confused (yeah, whats new).  All the items on this thread seem to sugest that the Mayor of Pau said NON, but as I undersatnd the law the Mayor has no say in such matters, perhaps the Prefecture but even this is unlikely.   What would seem more likely is that the Federation pour la Chase or its affiliated associations have refused membership to this bloke and as they (normally) own the rights for the areas that they are registered in - end of story! No membership - no hunting!  I would have thought that this could make an interesting case if pursued. While I am posting I may as well state that I think Fox hunting is at best a waste of time, often cruel, possibly more so the way the French practice it which usually involves digging out including the cubs, this can take several hours.  Badgers are treated in exactly the same manner and this can be outside of the hunting season by Prefectorial arret. We have taken our land out of the "hunt" and if anyone wants to do the same I am quite happy to talk to them about how to do it - E-mail me with a phone number and I will call you. I still disagree with the route taken in the UK it seems to be leading to an even more crazy situation, the law is clearly being broken and all sorts of undesireable alternatives are gaining popularity, using large birds of prey for example. Cheers, Chris    

Val - I use the Organic Gardening Catalogue (Chase Organics) in the UK for my organic seeds and they mail them to me in France and as they stock Eradimouse you could try that route. Their order line number is 0845 130 1304. The other method apparently (that I haven't tried) is to put down bowls of potato flour, I don't know if instant counts, and nearby you put bowls of water. Having eaten the potato flour the mice become very thirsty, drink the water and die of extreme bloat, seems much the same process as Eradimouse. Cheers, Chris  

I think that it would be fair to say that there is a big difference between writing letters and taking physical action. As I understand it from "watching" this thread so far, written "protest" is what is being promoted. My personal point of view is that making hunting with dogs illegal in the UK was a mistake, persuading land owners to disallow hunting on their land by reasoned argument would seem to me the proper approach. I have been appalled at some of the actions that have been carried out by animal liberationists etc. many of these actions have in themselves caused great harm to animals and to wildlife. I have been equally appalled at some of the actions that I have witnessed from the hunting fraternity. Any comments on the programme? I don't have a TV. Best, Chris  

Yes, thats what I thought - that sort of confirms my suspicions, thank you. Chris

Interestingly enough I neither eat Pig or drink wine, now where does that leave me? Aliakum as-Salam ( On thee, peace also ) Chris.  

An alternative to what Le Pen has to offer.... Well I'm a simple sort of person and call me old fashioned if you like, but how about tolerance, inclusiveness, equality of opportunity, not judging people by their race or colour or religion or is that a bit to wet for some? Best, Chris    

I would guess it was a Couleuvre vipérine, a snake which has an incredible variation in colours according to the habitat / region that it occupies. The size that you quoted is the only thing I would question as 1 metre is about the maximum ( size can often be deceptive, snakes for some reason often appear longer than they are ). It is fairly prolific in the Tarn and other than swimming and eating it likes to spend its time by the riverside. It is not venomous but gets its name from its similarity in looks and behaviour to the Asp Viper. I can't really see that it could be anything else. Next time take your camera! Hope this helps, Chris

I don't believe what I am reading here, I am an artisan and I never ask for money "up front", so far I have never had a problem being paid and usually expect some money every 4 to 6 weeks as the work proceeds including materials used.  Also my personal view is that if someone can start next week - why?  Sure, it's possible that they have had a cancellation....... I would suggest you try to find someone via a recommendation. Best, Chris  

MY PICCI. The snake is a Montpellier Snake, not venomous, found in the south of France - in its mouth is a Lézard Ocellé which can grow to 60cm, a truly beautiful lizard - stunning colours and a lizard that can give a painful bite when handled, but not dangerous to humans. Fear of snakes seems to be very common, largely I think it's because relatively few people have sufficient knowledge or contact with them - or is it something deeper in our collective psyche? Dick - I suspect that your "kids" are not the only ones that fail to register the pecking order between different birds, although I should think that many have observed it on their bird table. On Monday at a friends house ( fortnightly Brits bird club ) a Hawfinch stood in the middle of the bird table feeding, every other bird kept away, including the hoards of Tits, until it departed. Funny thing about pecking order for food is that creatures rarely damage each other - not like when sex is involved - that's another matter altogether. Fact sheets on all the snakes of France can be found on our web site. Best, Chris  

Alcazar - Thanks for that, believe me I understand how you feel.  All I can say is that nature and the natural world is about the most important thing in my life, it's what I spend most of spare time with. In the course of my activities I am constantly confronted with "the pain & the suffering" as species do what they have to do to maintain themselves and I observe with compassion. All I know is that behind all this there is a beautiful numbers game whereby life is maintained and hopefully it will remain that way for my grandchildren and generations to follow. "And another thing..........WHY do they always make that rattly loud cry at 6am when I'm camping in the summer ?"        Perhaps they think you would appreciate a nice early start to the day?   Well, maybe that's stretching it a bit! Best, Chris.

Magpies and predation in reply to Alcazar on Eagle Owls thread. I understand that many people have an emotional difficulty with certain species in the natural world - it just doesn't happen to be my approach. I used Sparrow hawks as an easy example, but the worlds generally made that way and it would be fair to say that the blackbird population doesn't seemed to have suffered. Everything needs to eat and the way that some species go about it may not appeal to our sensitivities, but the morality, if that is what it is, of the creation doesn't seem to be mine to judge. The largest problems by far for most species are caused by Human activities in their many shapes and forms. How many blackbirds are killed by vehicles? How many blackbirds loose a mate from the same cause during nesting?  Somehow I think we (humans) have got in a bit of a muddle with our understanding of the natural world and apply to many of our human attributes to that which is not human.   You are of course entitled to shoot or trap magpies either in the UK or in France as both countries have chosen to derogate from the EU birds directive.   I am sorry that Alcazar feels the way they do and I apologise in advance for this diatribe but I thought a reply was in order.     Best wishes, Chris

Have replied on a new thread, Magpies and predation. Chris

I am sorry Zeb you clearly no very little about hunting in France as a whole.  I have made my case and I will leave it there, others can come to their own opinion. Thanks, Chris  

Very simply because younger people are at school on weekdays. Battue is only one form of hunting. Cheers chris.