L’histoire de la chasse en France

Big game has been part of French history for a very long time. One could say that it began in the Middle Ages with the appearance of the notion of "noble beast". At that time the hunting of stag, roe deer and wild boar was reserved for the elite.

However, the farmers will quickly complain about the lack of hunting of the latter leading to an overpopulation and consequent damage to their crops. It is only from the XIXth century that the right to hunt will be opened to all. 

Le droit de chasse en France

The right to hunt, so long requested by the French population as a symbol of the abolition of privileges, takes shape. The symbol was not enough to justify this, so it was the "scientific" aspect that would allow things to move forward by putting forward the primordial interest for our forests to have an observation in the field by hunters working jointly with scientists. Recognizing this was therefore the recognition of the knowledge of hunters.

For the little anecdote: François (founder of Venandi), sublimated by nature, always leaves with his camera to try to capture the wonders that the French forests offer, the photos of the landscapes below are his photos.

 

L’organisation de la chasse en France

Hunting is starting to get organized and structured:

• The permit to carry arms: it was created in 1810. The first objective was to control the number of weapons in order to control public security.
• The hunting license : it was created in 1844. At that time, it only consisted in indicating that one was going to use one's weapon for hunting activities during the year. On the same principle as today, it is necessary to make the request in prefecture and to pay a contribution. The population of hunters is thus very quickly regulated by the cost of the permit.

La chasse d’aujourd’hui : les enjeux

Today, hunting is extremely well regulated in order to respond to two main issues:

- To protect animal populations from their own overabundance. Indeed, overabundance very quickly leads to imbalances such as the appearance of diseases when the density of certain species is too high. This was for example the case for the wolf in the 13th century, which was problematic because it was a vector of rabies transmission and a pest for cattle herds.

- To protect animals from excessive hunting pressure by humans in certain geographical areas. Over-hunting can lead to the disappearance of certain species in certain areas, which also causes imbalances. The control of the number of animals hunted is therefore a regulator and allows us to maintain the balance necessary for cohabitation.

It was in 1963 that the notion of sustainable development via a hunting plan took shape. The aim was to allow game populations to proliferate while controlling them over time in order to promote cohabitation. Nature ceases to be exploited as an inexhaustible mine and a real concern about the future of hunting exists for the forest.

We tend to think today that hunting is a barbaric practice that goes against animals. Unfortunately, we tend to forget that the hunter is the ally of the protection of natural balances and the maintenance of ecosystems. The hunter is at the origin of the reintroduction of many species of game in France as well as the good development of its populations thanks to a sustainable management.

Venandi's values

At VENANDI, we have at heart to work and to propose you products respecting the whole of the stakes which we have just quoted. To make you discover the treasures of a wild nature, it is essential to respect and consider it.