At the end of a row of fir trees ready to be wrapped, cockatiels, diamond doves and short-tailed bibs bustle about on their perches. Children, tourists and enthusiasts take turns in front of the cages lined up in the open air on the Ile de la Cité, in Paris. A young man brought back his canary. He worries about the health of the feathered singer, whose company he enjoys in his small apartment. “I’d rather come here than to a pet store,” he said. “I don’t see anything serious” concludes the seller-breeder, after carefully handling the animal.
The scene takes place at the bird market, organized every Sunday in part of the flower halls belonging to the City of Paris. “After Christmas, it will be over”, warns a merchant. By a deliberation of November 17, the town hall of the capital ratified the closure of this institution at the end of the year. “Firstly for questions of respect for the animal condition, justifies Christophe Najdovski, assistant to Anne Hidalgo in charge of animal welfare. The conditions of detention of the birds posed a problem. They were crammed into small cages, with little consideration for their well-being and needs. »
“We must question our relationship with the living”
For this elected official from the ranks of political ecology, this type of trade no longer corresponds to society’s expectations. « We can no longer have activities involving keeping animals as we did ten or twenty years ago, he develops. We considered that it was not the role of the City of Paris to give authorizations to occupy the public domain for this business.. We must question our relationship with the living. A bird is made to fly, not to stay in a cage. »
Announced in 2021, the closure had been requested in particular by the Paris Animals Zoopolis (PAZ) association. “Birds are not goods, which are sold and bought for entertainment or decoration, insists Amandine Sanvisens, co-founder of PAZ. For us, it is also a question of symbol. This market is in the heart of Paris, at the foot of the prefecture. Its closure is a historic step forward. »
“We only hear animalists on this subject”
The market also has its supporters, like ProNaturA, an association created in 2002 to defend livestock farming in all its forms.. “We want to defend a discordant positionbecause we only hear animalists on this subject,” pleads Sarah Ausseil, its president, who slays the “good souls of the Council of Paris” and refutes any form of “abuse” related to the sale of caged birds. ” The French legislation is one of the most rigorous, all of this is very supervised, there are veterinary checks”, she insists.
For her, this market contributes to the preservation of biodiversity by giving breeders an additional outlet: “We saved species that were extinct in the wild by breeding them, like the Spix’s macaw. These places also attract many enthusiasts who do not necessarily come to buy. Some are there to chat and ask for advice. All these things will be lost: a meeting point, a tradition and a memory. »
The passion of man for the goldfinch or the nightingale is not new. Citizens of ancient Rome enjoyed them too, medieval princes owned aviaries and Papageno, one of the main characters in The Magic Flute Mozart, is a bird catcher, a specialist in the capture of small birds. “Birds have always been sought after for the beauty of their plumage and their song, recalls Éric Baratay, author of The Church and the Animal (Ed. of the Deer). It’s a bit like having musicians and paintings at home. »
“We didn’t pay attention to them, because they were replaced very easily”
This interest was then democratized to spread among the working classes. “It was still very urban, continues the historian. Even if we live in 10 m2, we can have a cage and the birds are not very expensive. That they live in very difficult conditions, with very high mortality, did not shock anyone. We didn’t pay attention to them, because they were replaced very easily.We did not imagine, then, that they could experience stress or loneliness. We were just interested in the pleasure they brought. »
The times have changed. “The closure of the bird market is not innocent and testifies to a reversal of social sensitivity towards animals, as we see with the debate on bullfighting”, continues Eric Baratay. Ethology, the scientific study of the behavior of animal species, has also made many discoveries about birds. “We noticed that the conditions of detention in the cage did not correspond at all to their needs and that there were situations of discomfort. We also realize the richness and value of animal life. We no longer want to do with it what we want for its good pleasure. »
While the law against animal abuse, adopted in November 2021, prohibits the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores from January 1, 2024, associations such as PAZ want to ban any trade in birds, fish or reptiles. A claim that worries Sarah Ausseil, for which this speech comes from activists “extremists” : “I lived in Paris all my youth and I remember wonderful moments with my grandmother when we watched the birds at the market. The little Parisians, what will they have if we close it? You have to think about future generations. »
Christophe Najdovski also says he is thinking about it, but with another perspective. He draws a parallel with the ponies used for rides in Parisian parks, an activity that the municipality also wants to better regulate. “The animal is too often considered as an object, he believes. Cis important that childrenants know animals and can have relationships with them, but we want to think about a new bond that is not only consumerist and utilitarian. »
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More than 5 million ornamental birds in France
There are 80 million pets in France, according to the Facco(1) survey carried out at the end of 2020 by Kantar among 14,000 households. Among them are 13.3 million backyard birds and 5.3 million ornamental birds.
According to a 2020 Ifop poll, 52% of French people say they own at least one pet.
According to an Ipsos survey carried out the same year, 95% of French people agree that an animal has rights.