Paris's city council is to close a live bird market in the historic center of the capital, responding to calls from activists concerned about animal welfare.

"It is really time today to close the bird markets that really consider animals as objects, as commodities, and it is also a vision of birds being imprisoned for life, and this is really cruel and archaic," said Amandine Sanvisens, co-founder of Paris Animaux Zoopolis (PAZ), one of the associations fighting to shut down the market.

The market filling the Louis Lepine square with thousands of caged birds every Sunday, has long been operating close to the city's famous daily flower market. A limited number of sellers will now be allowed to operate until complete closure in two years' time.

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Christophe Najdovski, Paris's deputy mayor in charge of animal welfare, described the market as a center for bird trafficking in France, where birds are subjected to unacceptable conditions.

"This is why we are committed to changing the regulations to ban the sale of birds and other animals," he said.

But many among the regulars and traders are skeptical, claiming the closure of the market won't equal a ban on selling caged birds elsewhere. They also mourn the end of a tradition that livened up many Sundays in the city and which they described as characteristic of a certain "typical Parisian atmosphere."

The decision to close the Parisian market fits into France's nationwide strategy to improve animal protection in the country.

The French government announced in September it planned to gradually ban mink farms, a process certainly accelerated by a COVID-19 variant spreading among the mink population in fur farms in Europe in 2020, as well as banning the use of wild animals in entertainment.

In January, the amusement park Parc Asterix in Plailly, 30 kilometers from Paris, announced it would close its dolphin and sea lion aquarium, with the animals sold to other aquariums in Europe rather than being relocated to a sanctuary.

During the same meeting that decided on the closure of the bird market in the capital, Paris City Hall also called on the French government to ban the sale of kittens and puppies under the age of six months in pet shops starting 2022. 

Video editor: David Bamford

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