As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Friday, 2 February 2018

New hunting law falls prey to old habits in Lebanon



Philip Issa, Associated Press

Updated 5:27 am, Tuesday, January 30, 2018


This Oct. 28, 2017 photo, shows a hunter holding two dead Calandra Larks in his hand near the town of Brital, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. Lebanon lies on key migratory routes for several protected European species of birds that winter in the Persian Gulf and Africa. But even with a new law in place banning the hunting of protected species, Lebanese and European conservationists say overhunting in Lebanon is undermining their efforts.

BRITAL, Lebanon (AP) — To bird lovers, the scenes are upsetting. Dozens of dead buzzards lie on a carpet of feathers on a rocky hill in northern Lebanon. Hunters pose with their catch — scores of calandra larks, known for their melodious birdsong, arranged neatly on the hoods of their Land Rovers.

Great white pelicans, protected both in Europe and Lebanon, soar overhead, then with a crack of rifle fire, tumble down into the shrubs below.

Posted on Lebanese social media in recent months, the images point to the enormity of the task facing authorities as they try to clamp down on hunting practices more at home in the "Wild West" than a country run by law.


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