The finances of the Nord and Pas-de-Calais hunting federations in the turmoil of the news
Hunting federations have rarely been so dependent on current events. With the war in Ukraine, the amount of compensation paid to farmers for damage to crops on game animals increased. Against all expectations, it was the drought that saved the finances. Ups and downs increasingly difficult to anticipate.
The Interceltic Festival of Lorient 2022
There is enough to be dizzy in the Hunting Federations. They are heading this year towards record compensation for farmers. The northern president of the national federation of hunters is worried. The financial state of the 35 French entities has never been so bad: “A dozen are currently very damaged“.
The federations of Nord and Pas-de-Calais are not the most to be pitied. In a region where the big game is rather controlled, the damage on the crops is less and the note necessarily less salty. It prevents. The amount will be higher this year. “We are about to pay 300,000 euros in Pas-de-Calais“, confirms Willy Schraen. This is 20% more than the previous year. The increase is 40% in the North.”In June, there was a lot of damage in the strawberry fields near Samer. Large files that can amount to several tens of thousands of euros“.
In the sights of hunters: the farmers’ compensation law and its famous environmental code drafted in 1968. In France, the Departmental Hunting Federations are in charge of wildlife management. Article L.421-5 of the environmental code stipulates: “They carry out actions to prevent game damage and provide compensation for big game damage.“It is therefore up to them to ensure crop protection.
The method of calculating these allowances is specified:The National Compensation Commission sets each year, for information purposes, as it becomes aware of the real market prices, the minimum and maximum values of the prices of foodstuffs to be taken into account for the establishment of the departmental scales.” (article R426-5 of the environment code). The markets, that is to say the price of cereals… and this is where everything gets complicated for the Federations of hunters.
Because, since the start of the war in Ukraine, these same prices have soared. “You realize ! The quintal of wheat was 180 euros in 2021. In 2022, it is 350 euros! We can’t pay for this“, indignant Willy Schraen. Never have the hunting federations compensated the farmers so much for the damage caused to the game on the crops.
Unexpectedly, it was the drought that saved the finances of the federations of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. It made it possible to contain the damage in the crops.
At the beginning of the season, wild boars were numerous. Many farmers have opened files. We had set aside a lot of money. With the lack of rain, the boars eventually lost interest in the fields.
Willy Schraen, President of the National Federation of Hunters
The animals stay in the forests and rarely go out into the plains. If the rains returned abundantly at the end of August, the problem would be less serious, most of the crops having already been cut.
For hunters, there is no question of stopping there. “We must change the system created in the 1960sasks Willy Schraen. A device that has become obsolete in his eyes.We killed 50,000 to 100,000 wild boars in France at the time. Today, we are close to a million. And above all, the agricultural culture has changed a lot”. An old fight for the president of the national federation of hunters.
In this very special year, the State made concessions. “This fluctuation of foodstuffs has been put on the resilience plan“. The calculations will therefore be made for the year 2021 and not 2022. But the drop in the number of hunters in France and the number of “huntable” areas requires fundamental reflection.
In the Hauts de France, there are many constructions that have produced complicated hunting. We’re not going to hunt between the houses!
According to the northern president of the federation of hunters, the creation of nature reserves has also complicated the tracking of wild boars. “They take refuge in reserves, especially on the coast. We can’t go chasing them in there! They come out at night to feed in the fields. I do not dispute these reservations, but the tax burden must be put in the right place“.
In September, Willy Schraen will be received by the President of the Republic to discuss these complex subjects. He obviously expects a lot.