In Sologne, illegal fences continue to hinder the movement of deer and wild boars

2023-12-31 14:00:13
Large landowners enclose their hunting estates with fences in Sologne. Here, January 9, 2021, a particularly elaborate system to prevent large animals from fleeing the property. JULIEN DANIEL/MYOP FOR “THE WORLD”

Bright yellow pine posts to which imposing steel fences are attached… In recent months, these airtight fences have appeared in several sectors of the Sologne forest, which already had nearly 4,000 kilometers of them, according to a 2018 census.

A flowering of fences in opposition to the law promulgated on February 2, 2023 providing that new fences do not exceed 1.20 meters in height and be placed 30 centimeters from the ground to allow deer and wild boar to circulate. In Millançay (Loir-et-Cher), a dozen kilometers from Romorantin, a brand new barrier almost 400 meters long reaches for example 1.70 meters in height and seems buried in the ground.

In this forest area of ​​500,000 hectares and 3,000 ponds, 90% private and classified as a Natura 2000 zone, owners seem to want to present the authorities with a fait accompli and take advantage of the fact that the decrees implementing the law are not still not published. When questioned, the Ministry of Ecological Transition ensures that “the last two implementing texts will be made available for public consultation in January” and their signature is planned ” end of February “.

Illegal enclosures

This “acceleration of entrapment” was denounced in a joint press release by François Bonneau, the president (PS) of the Centre-Val de Loire region and Raymond Louis, the president of the Association of Friends of the Chemins de Sologne, during a meeting, on October 4, with the Minister of Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, who in return promised an intensification of controls.

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These impassable fences make it possible to create illegal hunting enclosures where game is trapped. To attract animals, some wealthy owners can even implement prohibited devices, such as gates that open on one side only, using motion detectors. The beast is then lured inside by conveniently placed food and can no longer escape.

On October 10, for having used such a system, an owner located between Giens and Montargis lost his appeal to the Court of Cassation for “violation of hunting regulations” and had his license revoked for two years.

At the Association of Friends of the Sologne Roads, Raymond Louis claims to have documented twenty new violations of the law since February, or a third of those noted by the French Biodiversity Office (OFB) for Sologne alone, mainly concerning the Loiret and Loir-et-Cher.

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