France strengthens protection for two declining mountain birds

France has granted protected-species status to the rock ptarmigan and western capercaillie, extending legal safeguards beyond hunting to their eggs, nests, breeding grounds and resting areas. The measure, published in the Official Journal on 8 September, marks the first addition since 2009 to a national list of more than 250 protected birds.

It is now illegal to kill, capture or remove either bird, or intentionally destroy or degrade the sites they need to reproduce and rest. Intentionally killing a protected animal can bring up to three years in prison and a €150,000 fine. The stronger status is also expected to make conservation funding, particularly from the European Union, easier to secure and support a ten-year protection plan.

The action responds to steep and continuing losses. In the Pyrenees, western capercaillie numbers have fallen by nearly 80% since 1960, while small populations also remain in the Jura and Vosges. In France, the rock ptarmigan survives only in the Alps and Pyrenees in isolated, fragile groups. Both face shrinking habitat due to climate change, compounded by human disturbance and development.

France’s environment minister said the goal is to stabilize the populations and, if possible, help them recover, while acknowledging that this will be difficult. The designation cannot restore habitat by itself, but it creates a firmer legal and funding basis for long-term conservation.