Harchies Marshes conservation threatened by cross-border hunting

Environmental organizations and protesters are denouncing the impact of French waterfowl hunting on the Harchies Marshes, a protected wetland located on the Belgian-French border. While the marshes are a highly protected refuge in Belgium, part of the Natura 2000 network, hunters on the French side use methods such as intensive feeding with cereals and decoys to attract birds across the border.

Experts from the Royal Belgian League for the Protection of Birds (LRBPO) and ornithologists report that hundreds of birds are killed annually during the hunting season. This practice is described as undermining significant conservation efforts, including 1.4 million euros invested by the Walloon government between 2019 and 2024. Critics argue that the discrepancy in regulations—where France allows the hunting of 37 duck species compared to Belgium's limit of three—creates a biological imbalance and contradicts European directives.

Protesters recently gathered in Bernissart, Belgium, to demonstrate against the practice, noting that the noise and hunting activity disorient migratory birds and prevent them from building necessary energy reserves for their journeys, which can negatively impact their reproduction rates.