A hunter cuts down around 30 trees on private land to hunt with better visibility

In the Cotentin, a hunter felled trees on private land to have more visibility to hunt. Thirty poplars and 40-year-old oaks were decimated.

The controversies around the hunt don't end. In the Cotentin, a hunter decided to attack biodiversity to practice his hobby. A few days ago, the man felled about thirty trees which were on private and protected land.

The reason ? The trees bothered him and the hunter wanted to gain visibility to hunt ducks in a pond.

Photo credit: iStock

The cut trees are located in the marshes of Carentan, a protected and classified Natura 2000 site, where many animal species live, such as protected storks.

“We have touched our heritage, it is unacceptable. We can't let this go' , said Léon Morel, the owner of the land.

He cuts down 40-year-old trees

This act is serious since some of the trees slaughtered were over 40 years old. The decimated poplars and oaks have all been cut down and left in place, much to the chagrin of the 90-year-old owner, who is struggling to clean up his land. The field in which the trees were planted belongs to Léon Morel and his grandson Romain Montigny.

Photo credit: iStock

The hunter, who wished to remain anonymous, wanted these trees cut down a long time ago. For this, he had already contacted Léon Morel on several occasions, but the latter told him to contact his grandson. Faced with such a request, Romain Montigny refused to let the hunter cut down the trees. Determined, the hunter therefore returned to see the grandfather, who granted him the cutting of 10 trees.

“This person wanted to buy the land so that he could freely remove the trees , explained Romain Montigny. I had been very clear that the land was not for sale, that it belonged to my grandfather and that I did not want any more trees to be cut down. I was not heard, it is regrettable. Seeing that I wouldn't give in, he went back to see my grandfather. It was easier to ask a 90-year-old to cut down 10 trees in a given location. All the means were good to obtain an authorization. There was manipulation. »

A complaint filed against the hunter

These facts were denied by the hunter who believes that he obtained the authorization of Léon Morel. In his defense, he claimed that he did not know that storks lived there and claimed that the culling is not an 'ecological disaster'.

“We had agreed on a geographical area, and not on a specific number of trees to be felled. I was not aware that permission was needed to cut down trees” , defended the hunter.

Photo credit: iStock

Léon Morel and his grandson have decided to file a complaint against the hunter who ventured onto their land and decimated the trees without their consent. The hunter meanwhile sued the owner of the field for defamation. To be continued…