Evolution de la chasse aux pantières dans les Pyrénées

Abstract

Under the title "evolution" we will be approach the different areas where hunting with nets has been practised, a small historical review of this hunting method as well as different aspects that we consider to be present-day but were of equal important more than acentury ago. The practice of Wood Pigeon hunting in the Pyrenees using nets has been going on for a long time, and has be uninterrupted for at least 6 centuries. According to the areas - valleys, "districts" – it was carried out by towns people to cover their community's needs or for religious or lay proprietors. It constituted a source of revenue, which was certainly not negligible for those who perceived the benefits, but it also depended on the migratory fluctuations and the evolutions of the outside world. In the course of this period, many installations disappeared and other new ones were established but few lasted because at present there are only 10 game preserves that keep up the tradition.