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Clavier: Birds imported for hunting in Saint-Fontaine fall victim to an epidemic; carcasses are found every day.
Numerous carcasses of pheasants and mallard ducks have been found in recent weeks in the hamlet of Saint-Fontaine, in Clavier. A case of botulism has been reported.
Belga
Published on 18-09-2026 at 17:40
Updated on 18-09-2026 at 18:25
An epidemic is underway among pheasants and mallard ducks imported for hunting in Saint-Fontaine, denounced the "Stop Dérives Chasse" collective in a press release on Friday, September 18, 2026.
As every year, several thousand pheasants and mallards were imported and released for hunting in Saint-Fontaine, the organization notes. In 2025, 33,634 pheasants and 12,000 ducks were transferred to Clavier, according to figures from the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) reported in the press release.
No bird flu at first glance, but at least one case of botulism.
Since the beginning of August, residents of Saint-Fontaine have been complaining about finding numerous animal carcasses every day, the group added. Agents from the Walloon administration have since gone to the site to analyze the bird carcasses found.
According to the Walloon Public Service (SPW), contacted by Belga, tests carried out on site came back negative for avian influenza. However, a mallard duck tested positive for botulism. The specific type of botulism it carried cannot infect humans, clarified SPW spokesperson Nicolas Yernaux.
According to him, nothing in the situation "contradicts hunting law . However, it is important to ensure that the local game warden carries out frequent cleaning and removal of carcasses to prevent other animals from becoming infected."
"An act of extreme cruelty in animal cruelty"
"From the moment nothing is put in place to allow these birds to survive and reproduce in order to gradually repopulate the natural environment, these releases constitute an act of the most cruel animal abuse ," also deplores Stop Dérive Chasse. "In Saint-Fontaine, all the evidence suggests that these releases have no other objective than the entertainment of a handful of wealthy hunters."
The group is therefore calling on the Walloon Minister in charge of Hunting, Anne-Catherine Dalcq, to legally regulate these practices.
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Clavier: Pheasants and ducks released for hunting wander into gardens and die in the street
7 hours ago
In Saint-Fontaine (Clavier), residents have been finding dead pheasants and ducks for several weeks. These birds are released before the hunting season opens. The ducks die "by the dozens and hundreds" before they even encounter a hunter.
Info By François Braibant
"We also found a huge number of dead pheasants ," says Sybille Vandenhove, a resident of the village and president of the Canopéa federation.
What is causing these birds to die? The question remains unanswered. The Walloon Public Service (SPW) took samples in early September. Tests ruled out avian influenza, but a mallard duck tested positive for botulism. "There are different variants of botulism, and in this case, we are dealing with a variant that does not pose a problem for human health ," explains Nicolas Yernaux, spokesperson for the SPW. The number of dead animals remains unknown.
These releases are legal. However, the person in charge of the hunt must collect the carcasses daily to avoid contaminating other animals.
For local residents, the presence of these birds in very large numbers poses other problems: noise, damage to gardens, and pheasants on the roads. "Every morning and evening, I have 200 pheasants on my property, which isn't huge," complains Sybille Van den Hove . "These pheasants make an enormous amount of noise. They destroy everything. If you want to plant flowers or try to have a vegetable garden, you can forget it because they eat all the seedlings."
"This is not an introduction to repopulate. It's for the pleasure of shooting ," protests Maxime Rigo, from the Stop to Hunting Abuses collective, which is demanding a ban on these releases of small game birds.
The hunting leaseholder has not yet responded to our requests for comment.
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'On a retrouvé énormément de faisans morts également', témoigne Sybille Vandenhove, habitante du village et présidente...
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