France Turns to Forest Damage Data Before Setting Deer and Wild Ungulate Quotas

The balance between wild ungulates and forest regeneration is again under scrutiny in France, where hunting and biodiversity authorities are promoting a data-led approach before decisions are made on hunting quotas.

On 4 June 2026 in Paris, the Fédération Nationale des Chasseurs and the Office français de la biodiversité held a national technical meeting devoted to Ecological Change Indicators, known in France as ICE.

The aim was to strengthen the use of these indicators as a common tool for assessing the relationship between wild ungulates, forests and plant regeneration.

According to the FNC, the event brought together representatives from forestry, hunting, science and public institutions. Participants included bodies such as the ONF, CNPF, IGN, CNRS, hunting federations and French regional authorities.

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Measuring more than animal numbers

The ICE indicators are not limited to counting red deer, roe deer or other ungulates. The French method looks at three broad areas: the relative abundance of populations, the physical condition of the animals and the pressure they exert on vegetation, particularly through browsing and feeding damage.

The FNC says these indicators are already being used in more than 86 French departments, allowing hunting plans to be adapted to conditions in each territory.

Their value, according to the federation, lies in building comparable data series and reducing decisions based only on perceptions, isolated damage reports or social pressure.

A forestry and hunting debate

The renewed focus on ICE comes at a sensitive moment for France’s forests and big-game management. Drought, forest health problems and difficulties with natural regeneration have increased the need to measure precisely how much pressure comes from ungulates and how management should respond.

The FNC also points to the development by the OFB and INRAE of a future national tool designed to build a barometer of forest-game balance, known in France as the équilibre sylvo-cynégétique.

Its usefulness will depend on consistent data over time and on hunters, foresters, scientists and public administrations accepting common protocols for interpreting the results.

The French case points to an adaptive management model in which debate over large ungulates is intended to rely less on opposing positions and more on shared measurement, long-term monitoring and territorial objectives that can be reviewed over time.