Associations campaign to stop culling of 500 chamois in France

Animal welfare associations are fighting to reverse a decision to allow hunters to shoot 500 chamois (a type of mountain goat-antelope) in eastern France. 

The association pour la protection des animaux sauvages (ASPAS) has condemned the planned hunting of between 425 and 594 chamois in Doubs (Bourgogne-Franche-Comté)., calling it a scandal.

The chamois hunting season opened on September 9 and is set to close on January 29, 2025. 

“Why destroy the chamois in the Doubs?” said Jean Chapuis, local ASPAS representative to local media France 3 Franche-Comté.

“There are ten times more roe deer than chamois in the Doubs,” he added, saying that the species is not present in excess numbers.

Mr Chapuis said that the average growth rate of chamois populations in the Doubs - excluding hunting, predation and epidemics - is around 15%. 

Its natural predator, the lynx, is also present. As a result, there is “no justification for such a massacre”, he said.

“There are 230,000 hectares of woodland in the department, giving a density of one chamois for every 100 hectares of woodland. We are not exactly being overrun,” he said. 

“There is no scientifically documented damage to forests or farmland that can be attributed to the chamois species. They do graze on grass but they don't deserve the death penalty.”

Chamois numbers are falling in the Doubs: there were 1,140 animals in 2024 compared with 1,396 in 2023.

The animal is present in the Alps, Vosges, Jura, and Massif Central mountain ranges in France, but present across many European mountain ranges. 

A similar animal, the Isard, can be found in the Pyrénées.

Read also: Hunting season opens in France: key information and calendar 

‘They are just anti-hunting’

The departmental hunting association has hit back, accusing ASPAS of “just trying to create a buzz”. 

Jean-Maurice Boillon, president of la Fédération départementale des chasseurs (FDC) in Doubs, said: “Hunting has been going on in the department for 20 years. There is no problem. [They are] just anti-hunting.”

The federation says ASPAS is spreading false information about how many hunters will be permitted to kill this season. 

It said that the quota is set by the Commission départementale de gestion de la faune sauvage (departmental wildlife management commission).

This comprises representatives from government departments, hunters, farmers, forest experts, the French Office for Biodiversity, wolf wardens, the association of private wardens, environmental protection associations and scientific experts. 

Hunting quotas are set according to “field counts”, said Mr Boillon. 

Read also: Brittany steps up fight against rising numbers of wild boar 

‘Hunters do not do whatever they want’

The hunting federation’s technical and scientific director, Pierre Feuvrier, said that for three species - the chamois, red deer, and roe deer - the group proposed hunting figures that were actually lower than those approved by the government.

“No decision is taken at random,” he said. “We do not do this on the spur of the moment. No hunter is in favour of eliminating a species; hunters do not do whatever they want.”

Mr Boillon said: “There are also minimums imposed by the state. We have been maintaining a fair balance for 20 years. We adapt our hunting plans to control the herd. If animals are allowed to proliferate we are heading for real health disasters.” He also said that the animals can cause damage to cattle grazing areas. 

Online petition

ASPAS has rejected the hunters’ arguments however, and continued to condemn the season’s targets as “slaughter”.

“We are not going to stop this slaughter from one day to the next,” said Mr Chapuis. “Our aim is to inform people. 99% of the inhabitants of the Doubs don't know that chamois are hunted here. This is our heritage and we need to preserve it.”

The Humanimo association, which is based in Besançon (also in Doubs), has joined ASPAS in its cause, and launched an online petition (below) to protest against the hunting targets.

Among those to have signed the petition are wildlife photographer and regional environmentalist Alain Prêtre, who shared the petition online.