The municipality of Trignac, in Loire-Atlantique, announced the theft of its collection of 517 stuffed birds. This had been formed in the 1960s by the former worker Priest Jo Patron (died in 2021), passionate about ornithology and taxidermia, who had donated her collection of protected species to the city in 1992.
The birds were stolen from the premises of the old bird museum (historically located in the city center), closed for two years because the collection was the subject of an inventory and preservation mission, at a cost of 15,000 euros, in collaboration with the Nantes Natural History Museum and the Brière Natural Park.
The Trignac bird museum, closed for work since 2023.
© City of Trignac
The criminals allegedly burst into the premises using a footbed to open the door and carefully recover their booty. “People surely knew themselves. We don’t come here by chance. Nothing was damaged, it was done so as to take the birds, without leaving any trace ”said Hervé Morice, deputy mayor responsible for culture in West France. “Discovering this theft, it was the allowance and the misunderstanding”deplored Élisabeth Merlaud, head of the culture center of the city of Trignac in West France.
An investigation is underway, conducted by the Montoir-de-Bretagne brigade. According to Hervé Morice, the flight would rather be linked to a “Bird resale market at the national level (…) This kind of objects does not interest anyone. Possibly a collector. In any case, this does not easily flow, or in specialized concealment networks. »»
