There is a tradition among some of the paté and game farms of France that paying-customers be offered the opportunity to shoot the animals for sport when the time comes for them to be slaughtered.
Hunters travel from all over Europe for this opportunity. This practice, embattled in other nearby countries, remains a celebrated annual event amongst those able to pay.
When hunting fowl, a group of handlers will pre-seed the land with previously caged animals the morning of the shoot. These birds, most of whom have never flown before, will be pursued by dogs until they feel threatened enough to take their first flight.
There is a palpable feeling of release amidst the cohort as they progress through the day's ammunition. Those who I encountered all hailed from very high-stress and time-demanding industries. This will be one of the few weekends in the year they have off.
In two three-hour sessions, eight men shot down 348 birds. All the birds are destined for sale, labeled as "organic", "wild" or "free range" in specialty markets across Europe.
A celebrated taxidermist was on hand for the weekend to preserve choice specimens.