The hunting market - France

Hunting is the pursuit of animals with the aim of capturing, killing or eating them. When hunting is subject to regulation, the practice of hunting outside its legal framework is called poaching. Destruction operations are subject to the right of destruction, which differs in part from the right to hunt. Cynégétique is the art of hunting. By 2027, the global hunting, fishing and trapping market is expected to have grown by 6.2% a year since 2020. The United States represents the largest national market, with nearly 30% of total market sales and over 38.6 million hunting licenses in 2023. In France, for the 2023 season, the number ofnumber of validated hunting licenses was 963,571, a figure that has been falling for the past ten years. The main players in the hunting market are rifle manufacturers such as France's Chapuis Armes and Verney Carron, Russia's Kalashnikov and Italy's Benelli and Beretta, hunting equipment manufacturers such as Decathlon, Jumfil and Club Interchasse, distributors such as Terres & Eaux and game breeders such as Gibovendée. For several years now, hunting has been strongly contested, with a majority of French people opposed to it, and public opinion becoming more sensitive to animal suffering. However, the hunting market still has certain development prospects. One potential driver is market value: while hunters are becoming fewer in number, they tend to spend more on their hobby. The second potential driver is the development of hunting among women, who in 2023 will account for just 3.3% of all hunters.