The 2016/17 hunting season opens on Monday, 15th August. The jour férié is no celebration for the wild boar (sanglier) in the local departments. In Tarn and Garonne more than 5000 chasseurs have taken out a licence for big game, which is essentially sanglier and deer. The boar are responsible for major damage to crops, mainly maize, with the federation of chasseurs (ACCA) obliged to pay out 61000 euros in compensation to farmers last year. The hunters killed 2341 sangliers last winter in T&G and consider that the population is stable.
The chasse for duck opens on 21 August, quail on 27th August and the rest of the categories on 11th September and the season closes on 28th February 2017.
The battue for sanglier must be under the control of a trained leader, with warning notices put out and hunters wearing hi-visibility clothing. The ACCA for the department assures us that a battue en cours is no reason to prevent walkers or cyclists enjoying the countryside - but we would not really want to take the risk....
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