The city of Montpellier has decided to ban hunting on municipal land in the municipality, as reported the 20 Minutes news site. The agreements previously entered into with hunters were thus terminated.
Eddine Ariztegui, member of the Animalist Party and deputy mayor of Montpellier, carried the project. He explains :
To give people from Montpellier the opportunity to reclaim natural spaces. Many no longer dare to walk or ride a bicycle for fear of being shot.
A choice shared by the mayor of the city, Michaël Delafosse (PS):
It is a choice for the safety of inhabitants, walkers, as well as respect for animals.
In Montpellier, we are canceling hunting permits on municipal land. Great teamwork with @coralie_mantion @CeliaSerrano_ @PartiAnimaliste @ASPASnature #hunting a mortal problem pic.twitter.com/3HDYMHEfuL
— Eddine Ariztegui (@ArizteguiEddine) December 23, 2020
If hunting on public land is therefore suspended, hunters will still be able to hunt on private land. Of course, this decision did not make everyone happy. Jean-Pierre Gaillard, the president of the Federation of hunters of the Hérault, declared:
We found this out in the press. With Philippe Saurel (various left), we worked in good understanding at the end of his mandate. We were studying the nuisances on both sides. We have been surprised. We could very well have reached an agreement, so that two days a year, there would be hunting, and the other 363 days, people could walk.
What worries hunters in particular is the proliferation of wild boars, which risk causing nuisance. Jean-Pierre Gaillard adds:
We caught 183 in two years. If we had not taken them back, there would be 1000 wild boars in the city of Montpellier!
Eddine Ariztegui, because of his positions, has been the target of many threats on social networks.
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