Statut actuel du blaireau (Meles meles) en Europe : chasse et protection

The Eurasian badger Meles meles (L.) has been hunted by man since earliest times. The badger currently occupies a range that covers much of Europe west of the Soviet border and is hunted extensively, often in defiance of protective legislation. This study documents the hunting of the species throughout the region, as well as the various national legislations with respect to the hunting and conservation of badgers. Much hunting of the species is sports based (either directly, as in pursuit sports, or indirectly to control interference with other game) and often rationalised as an exercise in pest control or game management. There is little scientific justification, however, for the adoption of such stances with respect to badgers. There is still some ethnic use of badger products in parts of Eastern Europe where the species remains a valued source of meat, furs, bristle and fat. Currently there are probably about 1,500,000 badgers living in Europe west of the Soviet border, however, 50 % of these inhabit the UK, Ireland and Fennoscandia. Of the remainder, many of the populations in continental Europe are currently in recovery from the rabies epizootic. At present the national populations of both Albania and Lithuania are known to be decreasing, whilst a number of other populations remain a cause for some concern.