French President Macron suspends controversial glue trapping of birds

Emmanuel Macron has put a temporary stop to a controversial practice of hunting thrushes and blackbirds by trapping them with glue smeared on sticks, the French presidency said Thursday.

Macron decided to suspend the practice for the current hunting season pending a final decision of the European Court of Justice on the practice. Last year, there had been a quota of 42,000 birds.

In July, the European Commission urged France to "reexamine" the method of catching birds, which activists have called "barbaric".

Birds captured by glue hunting are caged and used as "callers" to attract others for shotgun hunting trips. After they are trapped in the glue, they are washed with chemicals to remove the sticky goo.

Environmentalists say that 150,000 birds die annually from non-selective hunting techniques such as glue traps and nets at a time when Europe's bird population is free-falling.

France is the last country in Europe to still allow glue hunting.

AFP