Overview

• The Cahors court adjourned the trial from June 19, 2025, to January 15, 2026, after ruling that a principal defendant requires a health assessment
• Authorities allege thousands of protected birds were illegally captured, held and sold across eight French departments and through a Belgian seller between September 2012 and March 2018
• A 2017 operation stemming from a 2015 inquiry led to the seizure of about 430 birds, over 140 traps and cash by what is now the Office français de la biodiversité
• Defendants include ornithologists, a Belgian bird dealer and representatives of the Parc animalier des Pyrénées, which disputes charges of organized trafficking
• Ten individuals have already been sentenced through a prior guilty plea procedure, and civil parties warn that further delays may cause elderly suspects to die before facing full judgment