While padel is experiencing spectacular expansion in France, with nearly 3000 padel courts, a worrying side effect is beginning to emerge: the impact of these infrastructures on wildlife, and in particular on birds.

Modern, but sometimes dangerous, structures

The rapid growth of padel clubs has been accompanied by a proliferation of outdoor glass courts, which are very aesthetically pleasing but often invisible to birds. Fooled by the transparency of the walls, many birds collide with these surfaces, causing serious injuries or even death.

Alain Henry, co-manager of the Mas club in Perpignan, one of the most active in France, confirms:

“We sometimes find birds on the ground, sometimes dead, probably after having hit a window. It's rare, but always striking.”

This phenomenon, long known in urban architecture (particularly with the glass facades of office buildings), is now finding a new echo in the world of amateur sport.

Padel, an unsuspected danger for birds?

An alarming observation on a European scale

According to League for the Protection of Birds (LPO), about 30 million birds die every year in Europe due to collisions with glass structures. Although padel courts represent only a tiny fraction of this figure, their rapid proliferation is worrying environmental groups.

In Spain, where it is estimated that more than 20 000 The number of installed tracks, the regional government of Aragon conducted a study in 2022 on three pilot clubs in Zaragoza. Result: more than 100 dead birds recorded in a single year around these installations alone. These data were published in the official bulletin of the Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Environment of Aragon.

Simple and effective solutions

Faced with this problem, several Spanish regions have experimented with prevention methods. In Bubierca, a small town in the province of Calatayud, the installation of gray vertical adhesive stripes on the glass walls allowed to reduce the number of collisions to zero within a year. These strips, inspired by the anti-collision devices used on bus stops or glass facades, make the window visible to birds without hindering visibility for players.

Other techniques exist, such as shock-resistant stickers in the shape of bird of prey silhouettes, horizontal line patterns, or the use of anti-reflective or tinted glass.

Padel and biodiversity: when windows become a death trap for birds

A collective responsibility

La Bonn Convention on the conservation of migratory species, signed by France, calls on states to take concrete measures against human threats, including structures invisible to animals. In this logic, the world of padel, as an actor in public and private spaces, could anticipate and generalize simple-to-implement arrangements.

The LPO and local associations now encourage clubs to integrate criteria of ecological sobriety in their design or renovation. Some track makers are starting to offer “Bird Safe” solutions, integrated from the manufacturing of the glass walls.

An awareness to be encouraged

With over 500 practitioners estimated in France in 2025 and a growing craze, padel must also think about its ecological impact. Like the FFT which signed a Charter of eco-responsible commitments In 2017, it becomes crucial to broaden concerns to include biodiversity issues.

Respect for wildlife must not be relegated to the background. And in this fight, A simple sticker can sometimes be enough to prevent a broken life..

sources:

  • League for the Protection of Birds – https://www.lpo.fr
  • Spanish Federation of Paddle
  • Departamento de Medio Ambiente del Gobierno de Aragón
  • FFT – Club figures padel 2025
  • Bonn Convention – CMS.int
Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.

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