http://www.komitee.de/en/actions-and-projects/france/bird-trapping/south-france-ortolan-bunting/ortolans-fate
Quote from the above
Trapped, force-fed, fattened and drowned!
For although the species is sharply declining throughout Europe, tens of thousands of Ortolan Buntings are still trapped alive each year in the south-west of France en route to their winter quarters. The birds are then fattened up, drowned in brandy, and finally end up in the stomachs of gourmets who are prepared to pay up to € 500 (almost £ 400/$ 630) for an Ortolan Bunting menu. Although European Union legislation unequivocally bans the practice, the French authorities have tolerated it for years. In September 2001 a pilot operation by CABS led for the first time to hundreds of traps being destroyed and numerous live decoy birds being set free.
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http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=8941
Quote from the above
(The population is suspected to be in decline owing to ongoing habitat destruction.)
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http://www.kuwaitbirds.org/birds/ortolan-bunting
Quote from the above, extremely shocking
These tiny birds—captured alive, force-fed, then drowned in Armagnac—were roasted whole and eaten that way, bones and all, while the diner draped his head with a linen napkin to preserve the precious aromas and, some believe, to hide from God.
