French wildlife and beekeeping

In France, some 14 million pheasants are reared in captivity every year for release into the wild at the start of the hunting period for the benefit of hunters, basically to be shot. Very soon, as I write this, we will see them wandering around in our French gardens and on our land. They are not a native species, although they have been in France since Roman times when they were introduced from Asia. In normal circumstances, their numbers would be very low, resulting from a high level of predation, often by foxes. In fact, a major reason why foxes are victimised is due to their killing of game birds. Now, a study has shown the harm they cause to our native species. The release of farmed pheasants exterminates populations of threatened and protected reptiles, and, like every year, they will resume to satisfy an increasingly controversial hobby called hunting: A scientific study has identified that areas where pheasants are released before the hunting season become biological deserts for...

The new list of protected reptiles and amphibians in France has for the first time included the four species of Viper, ( Vipéridés). Vipera aspis - Vipère aspic - Asp Viper Vipera berus - Vipère péliade - Common Adder Vipera seoanei - Vipère de Seoane -  Seoane's viper. Vipera ursinii - Vipère d'Orsini - Orsini's viper For far too long these species have been persecuted  and killed. This combined with the destruction of their natural  habitat has resulted in a serious decline in numbers. Needless to say this will not in itself prevent the continued harming of these valuable species but will send a signal to those with ears to hear and to those in authority   LINK TO LEGISLATIVE TEXT Chris