Coloured ring on the leg, number clearly legible: if you have recovered a farm-reared bird in Lot-et-Garonne, here is where to report it and what happens to the information. Reports are useful to the ACCAs (approved communal hunting associations) and federations that organise releases; the public only ever sees totals per department. Lot-et-Garonne is one of the 12 departments of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, with Agen as its prefecture.
Validating recoveries in Lot-et-Garonne
For department 47, no federation uses RingFollow at present. Reporting remains possible and useful: the recovery is recorded, then reviewed by a federation; GIBIS plays no part in the validation. If the bird comes from a release in a department whose federation is registered, that federation validates the recovery; otherwise the report stays on file for Lot-et-Garonne.
Reporting in four steps
- Photograph the ring, on the leg or once removed; if the number runs all the way round, take several shots.
- Enter the municipality, Agen or any other in the department; no municipality is ever shown publicly.
- Pick the species from the list (red-legged partridge, pheasant, grey partridge and hare); sex and circumstances are optional.
- Send it. For 24 hours you can still remove or add a photo.
Within the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region
Besides Lot-et-Garonne, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region comprises Charente, Haute-Vienne, Landes, Dordogne, Creuse, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Vienne, Gironde, Deux-Sèvres, Corrèze and Charente-Maritime. None of the 12 departments in the region has a federation tracking its rings on RingFollow at present (see the list by region).
What next?
The report is recorded as soon as it arrives, with the photo and the municipality given. The ring number is then matched against known releases; if one took place in a department whose federation is registered, that federation validates the recovery. If no release matches, the report is kept under department 47 and stays out of the public totals. No hunter, ACCA or municipality is ever named: only totals per department and points rounded to about 1 km.
Land and population
Land cover in 2018 (CORINE Land Cover): agricultural areas lead with 73%, followed by forests and semi-natural areas (22%). The rest is shared between artificial surfaces (4%) and water bodies (1%). About 5,390 km², 319 municipalities and 333,602 inhabitants in 2022: those are the orders of magnitude. Besides Agen, the prefecture, the department has three sub-prefectures: Marmande, Nérac and Villeneuve-sur-Lot.
Sources: INSEE (official geographic code 2025, 2022 population counts), OFB / EEA (CORINE Land Cover 2018), geo.api.gouv.fr (areas).
What a reported ring is for
ACCAs and federations fund releases; rings are the only way to know what they yield in the field. Consolidated figures are public on the Statistics page, by department.
Neighbouring departments
Its neighbours are Landes to the south-west, Tarn-et-Garonne to the south-east, Lot to the east, Dordogne to the north, Gironde to the north-west and Gers to the south. Beyond the regional boundary lies the region of Occitania. Among its neighbours, the share of agricultural areas ranges from 31% (Landes) to 89% (Gers), against 73% here (CORINE Land Cover 2018). None of these neighbours tracks its rings on RingFollow; the nearest registered federation is in Haute-Loire, about 275 km to the east (centre to centre).
Breeding and restocking
The ringed birds tracked here come from the GIBIS game farm in Chatte (Isère). For the pheasant strain, see PUR CHASSE® pheasants; for restocking in general, restocking game birds.
RingFollow figures for Lot-et-Garonne
- No validated recovery has been located in Lot-et-Garonne on RingFollow so far.
- No report linked to the department is awaiting validation.
- Nationwide, RingFollow records 85 ringed releases (3,592 birds) and 16 validated recoveries, across 5 participating federations.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I report a pheasant ring found in Lot-et-Garonne?
On bagues.gibis.fr, from a phone: a photo of the ring, the species and the municipality where the bird was taken are enough. No account is needed.
Who validates a recovery reported in Lot-et-Garonne?
A hunters' federation: the one for the department where the bird was originally released, if it is registered on RingFollow. The Lot-et-Garonne hunters' federation (FDC 47) does not use RingFollow at present, and GIBIS never validates.
Why are there no statistics for Lot-et-Garonne?
A department's statistics are only published if its federation tracks its rings on RingFollow and at least 3 releases are recorded there. The Lot-et-Garonne hunters' federation (FDC 47) does not use RingFollow at present.
How long is a report from Lot-et-Garonne kept?
Five hunting seasons, the duration of the restocking study. After that it is kept only in anonymised form, without contact details or licence number.
Should a ring engraved with an address, found in Lot-et-Garonne, be reported here?
No. RingFollow only covers game-farm rings, which carry no address. Rings from scientific ringing schemes are reported to those schemes; this site's guide tells you more.
Registering a federation
Hunter or ACCA official in Lot-et-Garonne? You can raise it with your federation. All federations and their situation: Federations.
Few figures for Lot-et-Garonne so far? See what a well-filled department page looks like (example with simulated data).