8 out of 10 people in France want hunting banned at weekend
A similar percentage is in favour of banning hunting during school holidays as well
The poll found high levels of support for hunting bans during the weekends and holidays
HJBC/Shutterstock
Just under eight in 10 people in France would like hunting to be banned at the weekend, and a similar percentage want it banned during school holidays, a new poll has found.
The eighth annual barometer from animal protection association La Fondation 30 Millions d’amis - with polling company Ifop - found that:
The poll found that the percentage of those in favour of a school holiday ban had risen, from 77% in 2023.
In a press release, the association stated that “73% are in favour of all these restrictions combined (school holidays, weekends and public holidays exempt from hunting)”.
A similar percentage (76%) would also be in favour of banning hunting with dogs completely.
Hunting accidents
It comes after hunting accidents and deaths repeatedly make headlines during hunting season in France.
In October 2024, a man was killed instantly when he was shot in the head during a boar hunt. A month later a man lost his leg after he was accidentally shot by boar hunters while he was out foraging for mushrooms in Var; and in December 2024, a man was shot dead by a fellow hunter in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
Read more: Walker picking mushrooms in Var loses leg after being shot by hunter, 82
Read also: Man shot dead by fellow hunter in southern France
Similarly, a couple who were attacked by a boar that had been injured by a hunting dog (in January 2025) are taking the local hunting association to court for what they say is their connection to the incident.
Read also: Walkers injured by wild boar launch legal action against hunters in south-west France
Regulations currently hunting require participants to hold valid gun licences, to be 100% sober when hunting, wear hi-vis vests, and put out signs indicating ‘Chasse en cours (hunt in progress)’ to warn people that a hunt is underway. There are also rules on the angles, heights and types of targets at which participants can shoot.
Nonetheless, a number of fatal hunting accidents happen over the course of each hunting season, some of which are inevitably firearm-related.
Over the 2023-24 hunting season, there were six fatal and 97 non-fatal hunting accidents.
While the vast majority of victims are hunters themselves, some are bystanders. In particular, this was the case of Morgan Keane, a 25-year-old Franco-British man who was shot dead while chopping wood in his own garden in 2020.
Read also: How to keep hunters out of your garden in France
Similarly, the death of a 17-year-old girl who was shot dead while she was hiking in Cantal (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) in 2022 led to renewed debates on whether to ban hunting during certain times; while a mayor banned hunters from using bullets the same year, after a 25-year-old woman was accidentally shot dead in Occitanie.
Read also: Suspended sentence for teen hunter who shot hiker dead in France
Read more: Calls for hunt-free day in France multiply after hiker, 25, killed
Read more: Hunter, 17, questioned after woman shot dead on walking path in France
Animal laws, pets, and farming
The barometer from La Fondation 30 Millions d’amis also found:
67% feel that animals are poorly defended by politicians
84% say they are in favour of banning the online sale of pets
76% are in favour of banning the sale of all types of pets in pet shops
61% are in favour of mandatory sterilisation for pets, to prevent abandonment and the spread of strays
83% are in favour of a total ban on intensive farming and the keeping of farm animals in cages
90% are in favour of the widespread introduction of video surveillance in slaughterhouses
89% agree that “the slaughter of animals in full consciousness, without prior stunning, is unacceptable in all circumstances”
85% are against all forms of animal experimentation when alternatives exist
75% are against bullfighting
73% are against the traditional ‘gavage’ feeding technique that is used to make foie gras
77% believe that animals should have the legal status of a “non-human person” to protect them
"[Despite] a difficult economic climate…this barometer shows that the condition of animals is not a secondary concern for people in France,” said Reha Hutin, president of La Fondation 30 Millions d’amis.
“On the contrary, society's expectations have never been so high regarding the need to act on behalf of animals, to strengthen their legal status, and to ban the cruellest practices and their commodification.”
She added that the foundation is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, as well as the 10th anniversary of the landmark February 2015 law, which the foundation helped to pass, and which - it says - “revolutionised the legal status of animals in the Code civil”.
“As for our leaders, it is high time they came out of their inertia and finally met the expectations of the French in terms of animal welfare,” said Ms Hutin.
