The Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) has recently ruled the practice of bird hunting using glue traps to be illegal due to the harm the method causes to songbirds. Many EU countries have banned this practice, but France is one of the countries that still allows it.

Glue-trapping is done by spreading glue known as birdlime on tree branches to catch songbirds, who are then used as “callers” to attract other birds to be shot by hunters.  Previously, French hunters argued that this method of glue trapping was a traditional method and justified exemption from an EU ban introduced in 1979.

This ruling was welcomed by many French environmental groups. In particular, Yves Verilhac of France’s Bird Protection League (LPO) has said “the judgment is very interesting because it says that tradition is no excuse for this and that it is absolutely not selective, which is what we knew and argued” and that “following this ruling we are confident of other successes. These cruel, outdated methods will begin falling like dominoes.” The Environment Minister of France, Barbara Pompili has suggested the government will move to make the ban permanent in France.

Hunting has long been regulated in Hong Kong, with the Ordinance for the Preservation of Birds (No. 1 of 1870) coming into force on 30 March 1870 due to an increase in destruction of birds and frequent discharge of firearms in neighbourhood areas. This was followed by the introduction of a licensing system for hunting in 1885 through the Wild Birds and Game Preservation Ordinance (no. 6 of 1885). Later towards the end of the 1970s, the issuance of hunting licenses became a concern to the government and on 4 December 1979 all forms of hunting became prohibited in Hong Kong.

The ban on hunting in Hong Kong remains today despite some backlash from the Hong Kong Hunters’ Association shortly after the decision. There was an exception that wild pigs could be hunted to control their population, however, the hunting of wild pigs was banned in 2017. The Wild Animals Protection Ordinance (Cap. 170) governs the ban on hunting and protection of wild animals in Hong Kong today.

Despite the ban, there remains a problem of illegal hunting in Hong Kong with people laying out cage traps and snares to illegally catch wild animals for food. These traps often cause severe injury to animals and they are forced to continue living their lives with such injures. The SPCA has spoken out against this practice with the development of the Stop Illegal Animal Traps Alliance (S.I.A.T.A). Ultimately, further enforcement by the authorities and public education is needed to prevent illegal hunting practices and ensure the protection of wild animals in Hong Kong.

Courtesy of Michelle Cheung

Main Sources: The Animal Reader, The Guardian, HK Lawyer, SPCA