Bagnols-sur-Cèze: Saint-Hubert hunters defend their art of living
Les chasseurs défendent leur art de vivre. Archives Mikaël Anisset – MiKAEL ANISSET
Saturday May 11, 2024, the hunting company organized its traditional annual garage sale at Rimbaud Park in Bagnols-sur-Cèze. There were people and chatting in the shade of the hackberry trees.
He is the president of Saint-Hubert in Bagnols-sur-Cèze. Saturday May 11, 2024, the hunting company organized its traditional annual garage sale at Rimbaud Park in Bagnols-sur-Cèze. There were people in the shade of the hackberry trees. The crowds were there around the fifty stands that had been allocated.
"An art of living"
At lunchtime, the tables were well stocked with sausage, merguez, fries, pâté sandwich and Côtes-du-Rhône on the menu, "a whole art of living& ;quot;greeted by the first assistant Maxime Couston present at the garage sale. This event allows Saint-Hubert "to bring in money to keep the association alive", explains the president from the Sauveur Obino hunting company. This son of a masonry craftsman, born in Bagnols-sur-Cèze, has lived several lives.
"A tradition, a hobby"
Former professional football player in Nîmes and Alès, he was also FCBP coach and swimming teacher. Of all these experiences, there is one that sometimes arouses controversy, and that is hunting, "a tradition, a leisure" that hunters assume respect for others.
The president of the hunting society and his hundred or so members would like to bring ecological considerations back into fairer proportions in "doing pedagogy& ;quot; he declares. The ecosystem no longer has any secrets for him. "We no longer have natural pheasants or partridges and even fewer rabbits since myxomatosis" regrets Sauveur Obino.< /p>
Habits that change
There is, however, good news: there are more hares. This is the consequence of the fact that there are no more packs. The vines are less accessible. They put wires everywhere. So we can no longer pass otherwise we have to jump and it’s painful. You have to go around. These constraints protect the hare population. On the other hand, there are few thrushes left. Part of it is the food."
Biodiversity
Today, the harvest is done by machine. "Everything is picked up explains Sauveur Obino. When I was young we harvested with pruning shears. And the boss told us to leave the verjuice on the little green grapes that were left. We left a little. And the thrushes ate the verjuice." Hunters are not indifferent to the environmental theme either: "There may also have been global warming and all those solar panels. When the birds see all this, they are startled. Biodiversity has been profoundly modified."
"A shooting school"
Sauveur Obino would like, in partnership with the town hall, to implement actions aimed at young people. "We're going to walk them in the woods and show them the plants and collect the cartridges" he says. The date of this activity remains to be determined. The president of the Bagnols-sur-Cèze hunting society has no shortage of ideas. "I’I would also like us to create a shooting school to pass on this know-how to today’s young people who would be the hunters of tomorrow, he declares. The 70-year-old man started hunting at the age of 16 "for his love of dogs and nature"< /em>. At the time, Saint-Hubert had 300 to 400 members in Bagnols-sur-Cèze.
Calendar of hunts and trap shooting on June 8 and 9
In addition to the annual garage sale, the Soci&eac;t&eac; The hunting club also organizes a ball trap every year. This year, the event was held at the same time. takes place on Saturday, June 8 and Sunday, June 9. Carmignan (you must hold a shooting license or a hunting permit). It will take place on Saturday June 8 and Sunday June 9, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 9 p.m., à Carmignan. The association receives logistical assistance from the town hall which maintains and lends the land. The year of Saint-Hubert is obviously punctuated by the calendar of hunts. Wild boar hunting takes place from August 2024 until March 2025. As for small game, the season runs from September until October. at the end of January. This category includes pheasant, partridge, woodcock, thrushes, etc. At the beginning of February, it’s game hunting. the affray that begins. "We station ourselves in a hunting cabin, explains Sauveur Obino. We don't move, we wait for the birds to pass by. We are only entitled to thrush, starlings and woodpigeons. Çit ends on February 20 and after that, there is only the woodpigeon that can be hunted from February 21 February until end of March. The president of Saint-Hubert also specifies “that hunters pay to go into the woods" quot;. A hunting license costs 200 euros; per year and per hunter.
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