Coloured ring on the leg, number clearly legible: if you have recovered a farm-reared bird in Tarn-et-Garonne, here is where to report it and what happens to the information. RingFollow never publishes the name of a hunter, an ACCA (approved communal hunting association) or a municipality, nor any count below 3. Tarn-et-Garonne is one of the 13 departments of the Occitania region, with Montauban as its prefecture.
Who validates recoveries in Tarn-et-Garonne?
The Tarn-et-Garonne hunters' federation (FDC 82) does not use RingFollow at present. Reporting remains possible and useful: the recovery is recorded, then reviewed by a federation; GIBIS plays no part in the validation. The ring number leads back to the original release: if the federation of the department where it took place is registered, it validates; if not, the report waits, filed under department 82.
Reporting in four steps
- Photograph the ring, on the leg or once removed; if the number runs all the way round, take several shots.
- Choose the municipality where the bird was taken, from the 195 in Tarn-et-Garonne: it locates the recovery but is never published.
- State the species, grey partridge or hare for example, and if you know them, the sex and circumstances of the recovery.
- Send it. For 24 hours you can still remove or add a photo.
Tarn-et-Garonne and its neighbours
Its neighbours are Lot to the north-east, Gers to the south-west, Aveyron to the east, Lot-et-Garonne to the north-west, Tarn to the south-east and Haute-Garonne to the south. Beyond the regional boundary lies the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Among its neighbours, the share of agricultural areas ranges from 48% (Lot) to 89% (Gers), against 78% here (CORINE Land Cover 2018). The nearest department whose federation tracks its rings on RingFollow is Haute-Loire, about 230 km to the north-east as the crow flies between department centres. Next come Isère (about 365 km) and Ain (about 390 km).
Land and population
Land cover in 2018 (CORINE Land Cover): agricultural areas lead with 78%, followed by forests and semi-natural areas (17%). The rest is shared between artificial surfaces (5%) and water bodies (1%). With 265,817 inhabitants (INSEE, 2022 population count) on about 3,730 km², the density is roughly 71 inhabitants per km²; the department has 195 municipalities. The number of municipalities (195) is lower here than in any of its six neighbours. Besides Montauban, the prefecture, the department has one sub-prefecture: Castelsarrasin.
Sources: INSEE (official geographic code 2025, 2022 population counts), OFB / EEA (CORINE Land Cover 2018), geo.api.gouv.fr (areas).
The Occitania region and RingFollow
Besides Tarn-et-Garonne, the Occitania region comprises Aude, Hautes-Pyrénées, Haute-Garonne, Gard, Hérault, Aveyron, Lozère, Tarn, Gers, Ariège, Lot and Pyrénées-Orientales. None of the 13 departments in the region has a federation tracking its rings on RingFollow at present (see the regional overview).
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.
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.
After you send it
Once sent, the report is kept; if you left an e-mail address, an acknowledgement follows. 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. Without a match, the report stays on file for Tarn-et-Garonne, unpublished, until a federation can validate it. The public only sees totals per department; points on the national map are rounded to about 1 km.
Recoveries and reports in Tarn-et-Garonne
- The count of validated recoveries in Tarn-et-Garonne still stands at zero.
- 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
How long is a report from Tarn-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.
How do I report a ringed partridge taken in Tarn-et-Garonne?
Just as for a pheasant: photo of the ring, number checked, species “red-legged partridge” or “grey partridge”, and the municipality. Nothing differs in Tarn-et-Garonne.
Who validates a recovery reported in Tarn-et-Garonne?
A hunters' federation: the one for the department where the bird was originally released, if it is registered on RingFollow. The Tarn-et-Garonne hunters' federation (FDC 82) does not use RingFollow at present, and GIBIS never validates.
How do I recognise a Gibis ring found in Tarn-et-Garonne?
A coloured, numbered leg ring, or a numbered coloured plastic wing tag, with no address. A ring engraved with an address belongs to another scheme: the guide explains where to report it.
Why are there no statistics for Tarn-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 Tarn-et-Garonne hunters' federation (FDC 82) does not use RingFollow at present.
For federations
A registered federation validates the recoveries in its own department and can export its data. Full list: Federations; contact: gibis@gibis.fr.
To get an idea of a department page with its statistics, see the sample page (simulated data).