France's top administrative court said Monday that glue hunting of birds would be prohibited, revoking exemptions for a traditional practice that has long been denounced by animal rights campaigners.

The State Council's move comes after the EU Court of Justice said in March that using so-called glue traps caused "irreparable harm" to the thrushes and blackbirds that are caught.

The birds are then used to lure others to the waiting hunters, who say they are later cleaned of the sticky material, called birdlime, and released.

But critics say the technique invariably leads to the capture of a wide variety of birds that are often injured, including having their feathers damaged or torn off.

Neither the government nor the French hunters' federation had submitted "sufficient proof" that other birds than those targeted did not suffer from the practice, or that they were released without any physical harm, the Council said in its ruling.

"Progress for bio-diversity," tweeted Environment Minister Barbara Pompili.

Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, head of the French bird protection league, told AFP: "Finally we're turning the page on this hunting practice from another time, and are entering the 21st century that is more respectful of the environment."

He added, however, that other "unacceptable" hunting practices still needed to be banned.

But the president of the national association in favour of thrush hunting, Eric Camoin, said the Council had "given in to the lobbying by the environment minister and by the enemies of hunting".

France was the last EU member to still authorise the traps with an annual quota of 42,000 birds, mainly in southern France, though President Emmanuel Macron suspended the hunt last August pending the EU court ruling.

Two campaign groups had brought a case against the French environment ministry arguing that the practice constituted animal cruelty.

Activists say that 150,000 birds die annually in France from non-selective hunting techniques such as glue traps and nets at a time when Europe's bird population is in free-fall.

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