Les Courses Camarguaises
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The free race or cockade race, that has become the Camargue race, involves bulls from the “raço di bioù”. Born from games formerly organized by farmers, the Camargue race became an official sport in 1975. It is practiced in Languedoc (Gard, Hérault) and in Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône ) from March to November. Each race has six or seven bulls. The raseteurs, dressed in white outfits and running on foot, use hooks held in their hand to try remove the cockade, one of a set of tassels fixed on strings between the horns of the bull. The Camargue races are very popular locally and attract large audiences. The bulls are small and relatively lightweight.
It is a very popular sport throughout the region with the grand final of the competition - Le Coqard d'Or - regularly filling the Arena with a capacity 22,000 spectators.
Hunting
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Hunting is a highly sought-after leisure activity and has been practiced for many centuries in the delta. Today hunting (shooting) operates under strict control and licencing on land (wild boar, rabbit, pheasant) but especially on water (ducks, snipe, moorhens.) during the winter. Much of this activity is now under the administration and sanction of the Tour du Valat ecological research station who are developing systems for hunting to be done for the benefit of the fauna of the marsh.
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Shooting is mainly carried out in the evening as the wildfowl leave their nests to feed or early in the morning when they return. The hunter is either in a lookout post in the marsh, on foot or uses a small, pointed boat, un négochin, the more traditional being accompanied by a French Barbet water dog to pick up fallen game.
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It is difficult to know precisely how many animals and birds are taken during a hunting season that runs from mid-August to the end of January. Various sources place it between 120,000 and 150,000 ducks each year. The rental of hunting shares sometimes exceeds agricultural income (up to €10,000/year per shareholder).
