20 June 2021

Les animaux qu'ils chassent

Here are a few more photos that I took in the hunting museum at Montpoupon. Hunting is firmly anchored in the culture of the Loire Valley. We've learned to live with having hunters out in the vineyard from December through February every year, and organized hunts targeting deer and foxes at other times. Let's just call it population control — animal populations, I mean. On our walks in the vineyard, we often see game birds (pheasants especially), rabbits or hares, and roe deer. Natasha flushes them out of the vineyard rows and chases them. We sometimes see foxes, badgers, or pine martens as well. I know there are boars out there too, but I've never seen any in the vineyard.






10 comments:

  1. I dream of an utopian world where the animals will hunt the hunters!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They will certainly continue to hunt each other. Living with a cat is evidence of that.

      Delete
    2. Yes, but wild animals -- cats are not tamed, but they are not wild -- hunt for food, not for the pleasure of killing defenseless animals. Man is the worst predator, ever! And by that, I mean Republicans!

      Delete
    3. The cat kills lizards but does not eat them.

      Delete
    4. If he weren't nicely fed, he probably would.

      Delete
    5. chm, LOLOL Republicans, too funny! I'm not a big fan of taxidermy, which if I'm not mistaken is usually the skins over a styrofoam form. The sketches of the dog are beautiful!

      Delete
    6. In France nowadays, organized and regulated hunting is probably the responsible thing to do. Animals like deer, boars, and foxes no longer have any natural predators. The country would be overrun with such animals without hunting. Besides, venison and boar meat are edible. Foxes are seen as pests and their numbers need to be kept in check.

      Delete
  2. The picture of the resting dogs is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, BettyAnn. It makes me think of Grotte Chauvet.

      Delete
  3. I'v never been fond of the idea of installing the dismembered heads of dead animals on my walls.
    chm: C'est vrai. Absolutely.

    ReplyDelete

What's on your mind? Qu'avez-vous à me dire ?