In France, 1.7 million foxes, mustelids, and corvids classified as species likely to cause damage are culled every year to limit harm to agricultural activities and public health. A team from the Centre for Ecology and Conservation Sciences (Mus\u00e9um national d’Histoire naturelle [MNHN], Centre national de la recherche scientifique [CNRS], Sorbonne Universit\u00e9), together with the University of the West of England, has for the first time assessed the ecological and economic effectiveness of this policy, drawing on seven hunting seasons (2015-2022) and ten species (red fox, stone marten, pine marten, polecat, weasel, carrion crow, rook, magpie, jay, and starling).<\/p>\n
The results, derived from linear mixed models applied to official data on reported damage and culling figures, show no link between control effort and the trend in damage costs: an increase in shooting does not reduce damage reports the following year, and a decrease does not increase them either. Monitoring data from the STOC-EPS programme (Suivi Temporel des Oiseaux Communs \u2013 \u00c9chantillonnages Ponctuels Simples, the French common bird breeding monitoring scheme) further confirms that trapping and shooting do not affect the breeding numbers of the targeted bird species, with several even showing a positive relationship with control effort, suggesting rapid demographic compensation.<\/p>\n
From an economic standpoint, the cost of lethal control is estimated at between \u20ac103 and \u20ac123 million per year, compared with only \u20ac8 to \u20ac23 million in officially reported damage. This cost-benefit ratio is unfavourable even under the most conservative scenarios. The authors also point to a potential loss of ecosystem services (seed dispersal by corvids, rodent regulation by small carnivores, etc.). The study calls for a revision of the regulatory framework when the triennial decree expires in 2026, in favour of non-lethal solutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":46736,"template":"","class_list":["post-46804","forestnews","type-forestnews","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n