A clutch of leading French chefs, including Alain Ducasse, who has 18 Michelin stars in total across his many restaurants, has lobbied the French Government to partially reverse the ban on killing and cooking ortolans.
They say they want the right to cook the bird, even if it is only for one weekend of the year.
The method of capture and killing is cruel. You cannot shoot a tiny songbird out of the sky without destroying it and making it inedible. So, hunters catch the birds using traps set in fields during their migratory season (when they fly to Africa). They are then kept in cages (and occasionally in black boxes to disorientate themor perhaps even blind them like in the earlier days), encouraging them to gorge on grain in order to double their size. The little birds are then drowned in a vat of Armagnac.
Although killing and cooking ortolans is banned across the EU for decades, as the Ortolan is considered endangered, every year about 30,000 birds are slain illegal. This happens especially in late summer in the southwest of France. The population in France has detoriated in 10 years with 42%.
The reason being, that although France was warned in 2013 by the European Commission to act against poaching, the authorities barely acts against violators. Every year about 30,000 birds are slain illegal. This happens especially in late summer in the southwest of France. The population in France has in ten years detoriated with 42%.
Demand that the French government immedidately enforces the rules of the European commission to do its utmost to stop poaching of the Otolan and that violators will be severely punished.
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