French glue-trapping of songbirds is illegal, even if traditional, EU court says

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The court of Justice of the European Union said on Wednesday that France may not authorise the glue-trapping of songbirds, even if it is traditional, when more humane methods can be used.

“A member state may not authorise a method of capture of birds leading to by-catch where that by-catch is likely to cause harm other than negligible harm to the species concerned,” the court said in a statement.

It argued that the birds captured, even if cleaned, can sustain irreparable harm, since limes can damage the birds’ feathers.

“The fact that a method of capture of birds, such as the method of hunting using limes, is traditional is not, in itself, sufficient to establish that another satisfactory solution cannot be used instead.”

(Reporting by Marine Strauss @StraussMarine)