78% of French people for the ban on hunting on Sundays, according to Ifop

(Reuters) – Nearly eight in 10 French people (78%) are in favor of banning hunting on Sundays, according to an Ifop poll published on Monday.

Twenty-two percent say they are against an unhunted Sunday.

In addition, 70% of those questioned do not feel safe walking in nature during the hunting season, compared to 30% who say the opposite.

Over the period 2021-2022, the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) recorded 90 hunting accidents, including eight fatalities (two involving “non-hunting victims”).

The survey was carried out online from December 13 to 14 with a sample of 1,000 people representative of the French population aged 18 and over for seven conservation organizations, including the Association for the Protection of Animals. (ASPAS), France Nature Environnement (FNE) and the League for the Protection of Birds.

A government plan to regulate the practice is expected on January 9, they say in a joint press release.

The survey “confirms the need to establish Sunday without hunting in order to guarantee a peaceful sharing of spaces and uses, and to ensure the safety and tranquility of all”, they believe.

(Written by Juliette Portala, edited by Sophie Louet)