Macron, stop killing curlews, godwits. You can help!

This 2017 video says about itself:

The Curlew‘s Last Call

You could once hear the curlew in every county of Ireland.

Over 5,000 breeding pairs nested in the bogs, meadows and grassland countrywide but a recent survey now estimates that number is down to less than 200 breeding pairs.

What has happened to this most iconic of Irish birds? How has it reached a point of near extinction and will the next generation be the first never to hear its haunting call?

Anja Murray investigates the plight of the curlew and examines the state of nature in Ireland today and whether anything can be done now to save the curlew.

After every summer, thousands of north European curlews pass through France in their autumn migration to Africa. And every spring, they migrate back from Africa through France to the north.

However, in France it is legal to shoot these threatened birds.

This 20 May 2016 video says about itself:

Black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa) on a wooden pole, calling, Texel, Netherlands.

Like curlews, every autumn thousands of north European black-tailed godwits pass through France, on migration to African countries like Morocco, Senegal and the Gambia. And every spring, they migrate back from Africa through France to the north.

There still is a ten-year moratorium in France, after much lobbying by conservationists in France, the Netherlands and other countries, on killing black-tailed godwits.

However, the new Macron government in France is opening up the possibility to make shooting godwits legal again in 2020, while continuing curlew-killing.

The French government has an online consultation about killing wading birds. BirdLife in France is asking for international support in stopping the hunting of these beautiful endangered animals.

Until 31 July 2018, people all over the world can send an Internet advice on this to the French government.

You can make your own text (preferably in French; in English is also possible) for the French government yourself, but you can also use the text below that BirdLife in the Netherlands has translated into French.

The French government’s Internet form is here.

There, you have to fill in the ‘Titre’ (title)

At ‘Titre’ you can enter something like ‘Non à la chasse aux oiseaux en danger’.

Next, fill in the text of your message, your own message, or BirdLife’s message copied from here:

‘En Europe et Asie du Nord, des populations reproductrices de barges à queue noire et de courlis cendrés sont en déclin malgré les efforts de conservation de milliers de volontaires et d’agriculteurs ainsi que des budgets gouvernementaux annuels de dizaines de millions d’euros.

Ces deux espèces utilisent les zones humides en France comme sites d’escale pendant la migration ou pour passer l’hiver. Afin d’éviter tout déclin supplémentaire, il est important que ces deux espèces ne soient plus chassées sur leurs voies de migration.

Nous étions satisfaits du moratoire sur la chasse de la barge à queue noire sur tout le territoire français lors de ces 10 dernières années. Nous demandons ainsi au gouvernement français d’étendre le moratoire actuel pour au moins 5 ans supplémentaires. Notre demande est appuyée par les plans d’action AEWA et le Plan d’Action International Multi-Espèces pour la Conservation des Limicoles Nicheurs dans les Prairies Humides en Europe (2018-2028) récemment adopté.

Par ailleurs nous sommes très préoccupés par le fait que les courlis cendrés soient encore chassés dans les départements français où cette espèce s’arrête pendant la migration ou pour passer l’hiver. Nous demandons donc également un moratoire sur la chasse du courlis cendré sur toute la France au plus vite.’

Then, fill in your name (‘Votre nom’) on the form.

And further: if you have completed the form, then first click on ‘previsualisation’ to see if everything is correct and then click on ‘message definitif: envoyer au site’.

French President Macron is not really an animal lover or environmentalist. See, eg, his plans for a polluting gold mine next door to a beautiful rainforest national park in French Guiana. When he was a minister in the previous administration of President Hollande, his colleague of the Environment Ms Ségolène Royal had to stop Macron all the time from violating pro-environment rules to benefit Big Business. The MPs of Macron’s political party include a bullfighter.

However, the position of the Macron government is not that strong: they are in the middle of a scandal of Macron’s Deputy Chief of Staff and a Macron party employee beating May Day demonstrators to a pulp while falsely pretending to be policemen. There is also much resistance to Macron’s anti-worker policies. So, much pressure from bird lovers all over the world may help to save curlews’ and godwits’ lives from Macron!