The French government published its triennial decree listing species classified as harmful on Friday, August 21, 2026, permitting widespread animal culling across the nation.
The regulation, updated every three years in the Journal officiel, covers species officially classified as susceptible of causing damage. It authorises hunting and trapping targets including foxes, martens, and several bird species over the next three years.
Environmental organisations expressed deep shock and outrage following the publication, declaring their intention to file legal appeals before the Council of State, France's highest administrative court, to overturn the order.
Animal protection group One Voice stated on X that up to 1.7 million animals could be killed each year under the classification. The group stressed that scientific studies consistently show that killing these animals does not reduce property or agricultural damage.
Species affected and hunting rules
Under the new decree, foxes can be trapped in any location and dug out from underground dens with or without the aid of hunting dogs. Wildlife advocacy group ASPAS noted that foxes are classified as harmful across almost all of France, despite their acknowledged usefulness to agriculture.
Small mammals such as the least weasel, beech marten, and pine marten may be trapped throughout the year. However, their capture is restricted to within 250 metres of a building or a private or commercial livestock facility, or on land used for poultry farming, or beekeeping in the case of the pine marten.
The decree also regulates several bird species, including the rook, carrion crow, black-billed magpie, and Eurasian jay. Hunting authorisations for these birds are subject to specific conditions or restricted to designated municipalities depending on the department.
Legal challenges from environmental groups
Several wildlife organisations condemned the list as having been established under the direct influence of the hunting lobby. ASPAS told HuffPost that it will challenge the text before the Council of State, pointing out that foxes serve as natural pest controllers for farmers.
The League for the Protection of Birds, known as LPO, described the decree as an economic absurdity. The organisation stated that the cost of eradicating species listed as harmful is four times higher than the financial value of the alleged damage caused.
LPO confirmed it will join One Voice and ASPAS in submitting formal petitions to the Council of State seeking the complete cancellation of the decree.
Scientific findings on culling effectiveness
The government order runs counter to research published in March 2026 by the National Museum of Natural History, known as MNHN. The analysis concluded that the policy of classifying and killing target species is ineffective and counter-productive.
Researchers at the museum found no tangible evidence that massive destruction of listed species delivers economic or ecological benefits. The study concluded that selective slaughter is ineffective, economically unjustifiable, and ethically questionable.
The experts recommended that public authorities focus urgently on non-lethal damage prevention and reduction strategies, which do not require killing animals.
Economic costs of pest management
Financial evaluations reveal a substantial gap between management spending and recorded agricultural damage. Official estimates show that managing species classified as harmful costs between 103 million and 123 million euros each year in France.
By contrast, the actual cost of damage caused by these species is evaluated between 8 million and 23 million euros annually. Environmental groups argue these figures demonstrate that current culling programmes are economically inefficient.
