France reprimanded over controversial bird hunting practices

By Anne Damiani | EURACTIV.com

 22-06-2020

Paris has ignored a letter of formal notice sent by the European Commission in July last year, which calls on French authorities to stop illegal bird hunting.

The French government even doubled down in May by publishing a decree, which maintains controversial bird hunting techniques that are prohibited at EU level.

Vivian Loonela, EU Commission spokesperson on the environment, says the infringement case was still open.

“The Commission is aware of the publication of this new decree and will consider this new element in the follow up of the case,” she told EURACTIV in emailed comments.

“The Commission is requesting France to ban non-selective hunting practices, such as glue and nets, which are not in line with the requirements of this Birds Directive,” Loonela said.

While EU countries “may derogate from certain provisions of the directive,” they may only do so “under strict conditions that are not fulfilled in this case,” Loonela explained.

The controversial hunting techniques are decried by the Ligue de protections des oiseaux (LPO), a French conservation NGO affiliated to BirdLife International.

According to conservationists, the French law is illegal because it allows hunting bird species that are in bad conservation state. It also allows the hunting of migratory birds and maintains traditional hunting practices like birdliming, which are “not selective and harms species”.

When it comes to bird hunting, France is an EU outlier, says Yves Verilhac, who represents BirdLife International in France.

“64 species can be hunted in France, contrary to Netherlands which authorises only 2. The average in the EU is 30 species, making France the most lenient country towards hunters,” he claims.

The list of species authorised for hunting in France also includes migratory birds like the greylag goose, whose hunting is “illegal” because it prevent them from flying further North than France, says Verilhac.

In Brussels, the European Commission appeared to back this argument. Loonela said the EU executive “pays particular attention to the compliance of hunting practices in France because 20 of the 64 huntable species are not in favourable conservation status.”

The Commission has opened a new procedure “asking France to step up protection of the Turtle dove as hunting contributes to the decline of this species,” Loonela said.

For bird protection NGOs, the most controversial is undoubtedly traditional hunting techniques like birdliming and nets, which “are not selective” and harm protected species.

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Illegal hunting killed at least 99 birds last year: BirdLife Malta says this is the tip of the iceberg

Nature

In its annual assessment of illegal hunting and trapping, BirdLife says 2019 was the second-worst year in the past seven

3 February 2020, 5:52pm

by Laura Calleja

There were 99 illegally shot birds last year, in what BirdLife Malta described as the tip of the iceberg.

The number only represents the bird casualties retrieved by BirdLife and the police, which suggests that the number could probably be higher.

BirdLife released its annual assessment on illegal hunting and trapping. "The casualties make 2019 the second-worst year for illegal hunting since 2015," the organisation said.

In a statement on Monday, the NGO said that the numbers only represented the tip of the iceberg since many other shot birds are never found or end up in taxidermy collections.

BirdLife said it had received nearly 400 reports from the public - an average of eight per day - in response to its No More Callers campaign to weed out the widespread and unregulated use of electronic bird callers.

The organisation said that uncontrolled trapping of finches, which it said should be illegal following a landmark European Court of Justice judgment delivered two years ago, was putting Malta at risk of facing an escalation of infringement proceedings by the European Commission.

It said the derogation applied by Malta allowing trappers to catch two bird species was being used as a smokescreen for the largescale trapping of protected finches.

The NGO said that the authorities failed to have any form of control over legally hunted or trapped birds. “Following the 2018 Game Reporting Data Report from WBRU including results from only 9% of hunters and trappers who bothered reporting any catches, this year’s trapping season miraculously reached the season’s quota of 700 trapped Golden Plover at the last few hours of the last day!”

BirdLife said that despite all this, the government continued to ignore the proposal for the setting up of a Wildlife Crime Unit to enforce the laws. The creation of such a dedicated unit enjoys unanimous backing of all the members of the Ornis Committee, BirdLife said.

It added that more than a year has passed since Ornis recommended to then parliamentary secretary Clint Camilleri the creation of such a unit.

BirdLife Malta said the hunting and trapping seasons were characterised by an Administrative Law Enforcement (ALE) Police unit at its lowest-ever capacity in recent years, with zero back-ups from the specialist enforcement branch within the Wild Birds Regulation Unit (WBRU).

BirdLife Malta said that the unit had ended up with zero staff assigned to it following various resignations over the past few years. “This has led to a nonchalant attitude by the government towards illegalities, as characterised by several episodes of protected birds being killed – from the initial massacre of Greater Flamingos in August before the season opened, to the shooting of a flock of rare Short-toed Eagles in November, with all birds believed to have been shot dead.”

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Conservationists find birds in central African rain forest are facing major threats from bushmeat hunting

March 6, 2018, Zoological Society of San Diego

In a new study released this month, conservationists are sounding the alarm about a growing hunting crisis plaguing rainforests in central Africa. The study, published in the journal Biological Conservation, found that more large forest birds such as raptors and hornbills are being killed to provide bushmeat (wildlife taken for food) than previously thought. Researchers concluded that unless the threat posed by unsustainable hunting is reduced, bird populations will continue to decline—potentially leading to devastating consequences for the biodiversity of the region.

The study was conducted in the Littoral Region of Cameroon, where scientists surveyed 19 villages that border the proposed Ebo National Park in the western part of the country. Researchers used direct and indirect questioning and statistical models to quantify the socioeconomic predictors, scale and seasonality of illegal bird hunting, and bird consumption in the area.

"Understanding why people eat birds and quantifying how many are killed is just the first step in understanding how bushmeat hunting can affect birds like hornbills and eagles," said Robin C. Whytock, a Ph.D. researcher at the University of Stirling in Scotland and lead author of the study. "I think birds such as crowned eagles are particularly threatened by hunting in Cameroon, both because of direct persecution and because their prey base has been depleted by hunting. These and other similar large-bodied birds that reproduce slowly are therefore a conservation priority."

Read more at: 

Eight million birds killed illegally at 20 Mediterranean locations each year

By Stuart Butchart, Fri, 04/03/2016 - 11:35

Scientists from BirdLife International estimate that 20 locations in the Mediterranean may be responsible for eight million individual birds being illegally killed or taken alive each year.

In the paper Preliminary assessment of the scope and scale of illegal killing and taking of birds in the Mediterranean published this week in the scientific journal Bird Conservation International, the authors present a detailed analysis of how many birds and of which species are impacted, where the 20 worst locations are and why different species are targeted in each country. The report was previewed in the BirdLife review The Killing, published in August last year.

“We were shocked to discover that 25 million individuals of over 450 species are estimated to be illegally killed or taken alive in the Mediterranean region per year, mainly for food (to be eaten as a delicacy or sold for profit), sport and for use as cage birds or hunting decoys,” Dr Anne-Laure Brochet, lead author of the report, said. “Importantly, eight million birds are estimated to be killed or taken at just 20 locations. Given the uncertainty around these numbers because of the difficulty in documenting illegal activities, the total could be anywhere from five to 11 million.”

These 20 places are found in just four countries: Cyprus, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. They include the Famagusta area of Cyprus, where 400,000-1 million individual birds are illegally killed or taken each year, and the El Manzala area of Egypt, where 30,000-1.1 million individuals birds are illegally killed or taken each year.

The highest estimates of birds illegally killed or taken in the Mediterranean region were for Italy (3-8 million birds), Egypt (300,000-11 million) and Syria (3-5 million), while the density of illegal killing/taking was highest in Malta (18-667 birds per year per sq km), Cyprus (146-351 birds per sq km) and Lebanon (161-335 birds per sq km).

“It was disturbing to find that despite the positive impact of EU legislation, half of the top 10 countries with the highest levels of illegal killing are Member States of the EU. This indicates the need for greater effort to ensure that the EU Birds Directive is fully implemented at national level,” said Willem Van den Bossche, co-author of the paper and Flyway Conservation Officer for Europe and Central Asia at BirdLife Europe.  

The birds affected by illegal killing include the Blackcap (1.2-2.4 million individuals per year), European Turtle-dove (300,000-900,000 individuals per year) and Song Thrush (700,000-1.8 million individuals per year), among many others.

Read on ...

Protecting the Mediterranean’s migratory birds

Birdwatch News Archive

Posted on: 29 Aug 2015

After Birdfair, the fight goes on to protect the illegally hunted migratory songbirds of the Mediterranean fly-way.

During their twice-annual migration, birds face two natural hurdles along the Africa-Eurasia Fly-way: the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara desert. Even if they manage to cross those, many succumb to man-made dangers. In the first-ever assessment of the scope and scale of illegal killing in the Mediterranean by BirdLife International, it was found that 12-36 million birds per year, mainly songbirds, may be killed illegally by shooters and trappers.

Other serious threats to migratory birds come from power lines and wind turbines (which lead to collisions and electrocutions), and from the loss and degradation of crucial feeding and resting sites. Species such as European Turtle Dove, Black-tailed Godwit and Meadow Pipit are declining. With climate change predicted to increase desertification in the Sahel region of Africa, trans-Saharan migrants will increasingly struggle to survive.

BirdLife and its national partner organisations have developed a strategy for the African-Eurasian fly-way in order to give migratory birds a better future by 2020, and to stimulate the study and awareness of the magnitude and beauty of migratory birds. Part of this strategy is the development of a growing network of people and organisations that can share expertise and co-ordinate Mediterranean-scale initiatives to look after the birds. The Capacity Development for Flyway Conservation in the Mediterranean initiative, funded by the MAVA Foundation, is establishing a Mediterranean Fly-way Conservation Network involving over 20 NGOs.

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WEYMOUTH: Songbird numbers decline at Weymouth’s nature reserves

by Harry Walton

FOREIGN hunters have decimated songbird numbers at Weymouth’s Radipole and Lodmoor nature reserves.

RSPB staff say that tens of thousands of birds are being illegally trapped or shot on migration route points such as Cyprus and Malta where famous wildlife presenter Chris Packham was recently arrested while highlighting the problem.

The huge impact hunting has on cuckoos, turtle doves, warblers and other migratory birds is having a devastating impact on numbers reaching Weymouth.

Radipole RSPB spokesman Luke Phillips said: “Cuckoos have been wiped out here whereas before we always had several on the reserves while turtle doves, which used to be regular migrants here, are now extremely rare birds.

“Hunting is a major factor in this but not the only cause. Others include loss of habitat which is another key factor.”

He added that the dramatic fall in migrant birds was a serious concern for Weymouth and also for Portland Bird Observatory which keeps detailed records of migratory birds.

PBO figures show that the number of turtle doves they record has crashed from nearly 900 in 1976 to barely a dozen in 2011.

Continued

Turtle Dove Trap Found & Hunter threatens to kill CABS member

Published on Tuesday, 29, April, 2014 at 15:25 in Gozo News 

Yesterday was a busy day for CABS and the police on Gozo. In the afternoon the Bird Guards of the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) found a massive illegal cage trap installation in the Wied-Ghasri between Zebbug and Gordan lighthouse with 11 Turtle Doves who had been recently caught. A joint AFM/ALE patrol, alerted by the birdwatchers, deactivated the trap, which was nearly 8 cubic metres in size, and confiscated the birds inside. The Turtle doves have been taken to Malta where they will be rehabilitated and released after the end of the hunting season. “The Turtle dove is one of Europe’s most threatened farmland birds. It is extremely satisfying to know that these eleven birds will soon be flying in the wild again”, CABS team leader Craig Redmond said.

Early on Monday morning a CABS team filmed two young hunters hunting too close to a residential area in Xewkija (Gozo). Both men have been identified by the police and will be taken to court.

In a separate incident on the same day, a CABS patrol car was blocked in by a hunter near Qala. The hunter approached the birdwatchers, violently shouting and swearing and pushing a female CABS member from Scotland. The man then threatened to kill the team leader of the CABS patrol but luckily the group managed to escape from the situation. Shortly afterwards, the same hunter stopped the CABS members as they were driving in Nadur and again threatened to kill them, swearing at the team leader to ‘go back to his own country´, not only a violent death threat but also a racial slur. Both incidents were reported to the Victoria police station whose officers identified and summoned the aggressor. He admitted to the charges and described himself as being ´frustrated´ because he did not manage to shoot a Turtle Dove that morning. After the man had apologised to the CABS team the birdwatchers abstained from pressing charges against him for the time being. “We told him that if any of our team members on Gozo are attacked or harassed again he will have to stand trial. It is now in his own interest to convince his hunting friends to let us work in peace in ensuring that birds can continue safely on their migration”, Craig Redmond said.

Continued

Chris Packham in UK after questioning by Malta police

Chris Packham has returned to the UK after he was questioned for four hours by police in Malta as he tried to film the illegal hunting of migrating birds.

The naturalist and TV presenter said rare species were being targeted, and hunters were even shooting Montagu's harrier birds on the ground at night.

Mr Packham, from Hampshire, described Malta as an "avian apocalypse".

He was questioned after the hunters demanded the police investigate his alleged defamation against them.

Lawyers for FKNK, the hunters' federation on Malta, also asked the police to look at a transgression of data protection laws.

In Malta, if a lawyer lodges such a demand, the police are legally obliged to investigate.

Mr Packham, who is based in Marchwood, in the New Forest, was in Malta making a series of short video blogs for YouTube.

He voluntarily attended the police station where he was questioned.

Mr Packham, who has presented BBC Springwatch and more recently, Inside the Animal Mind, said: "Ultimately I want something positive to come out of this.

Continued

More flamingos, Honey buzzard, swallows, shearwater & gull all targeted by Maltese hunters

Second flock of flamingos gunned down as poachers take to the sea

October 2012. For the second time in less than a week illegal hunters have shot at and killed at least two Greater Flamingos flying off the coast of Malta, this time hunting the protected birds at sea, while BirdLife Malta received three more shot protected birds recovered at sea over the weekend.

Hunters on a speedboat
On Sunday afternoon a flock of at least 60 flamingos was spotted flying low off the coast opposite Maghtab. Within a minute, hunters on a speedboat within one kilometre of the coast were seen shooting at the flock, killing two birds, which fell into the sea and were collected by the men on the boat.

Hunting at sea is permitted for 13 species of duck and goose between 1st October and 31st January. The birds that are protected on land are also protected at sea and it is illegal to hunt within 3 kilometres of the shore.

Honey Buzzard, a Yellow-legged Gull and a Cory's Shearwater all shot
BirdLife Malta received three more shot protected birds on Saturday, a Honey Buzzard, a Yellow-legged Gull and a Cory's Shearwater, all recovered at sea. The Cory's Shearwater, which was found with broken wings and injuries to its beak, was amongst another three shot dead at sea in the same area. Fishermen on a boat had earlier spotted three hunters shooting at any birds that flew overhead.

Injured flamingos have died
When the first flamingos were shot at Qawra the Maltese environmental police (ALE) had confirmed that they didn't even have a boat out patrolling and weren't able to help with retrieving the injured birds from the sea. BirdLife learned that both the injured juvenile flamingos rescued last week and sent to the government veterinary services have since died of their gunshot injuries.

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/malta-holiday.html

Witnessing illegal bird hunting on the North Coast

With fall hunting season in full swing, another year of unregulated bird hunting is plaguing the North Coast.

As birds migrate south from Europe for the winter, hunters have set up nets along the coast that run almost continuously from Arish to Salloum. The only gaps are where new compound developments have been built over the past decade.

Hunting season runs from the end of August to early October, and the people hunting migratory birds range from kids with guns who shoot birds for fun and food, to those who strategically place nets in military wetlands to collect large numbers of birds to sell for profit.

Regardless of who is doing the hunting, bird hunting in Egypt is indiscriminate and completely unregulated, resulting in declining bird populations and disturbed migratory patterns.

Continued:  http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/witnessing-illegal-bird-hunting-north-coast